In 1984, the father received a three-room apartment from the state. In the 1990s, he privatized it in his name, although certificates from our entire family were used for this.
In 1996, my parents divorced, and my mother and I continued to live in our apartment while my father left for his new wife. However, he still remains the legal owner of the apartment we live in to this day. He does not want to transfer the apartment to my or my mother's name.
We are concerned that if something happens to our father, his current wife will inherit the apartment, and we will end up on the street. Is there anything we can do to prevent this? After all, it is my mother and I who actually live here and pay for everything, not him. Reader from bb.lv.
Is there a contract?
Unfortunately, the reader's concerns are indeed justified. As the legal owner of the apartment, the father has the right to take any actions with his property — he can sell, mortgage, gift it, etc.
As for the right of residence in the apartment of the ex-wife and child, the situation is ambiguous. If they have a perpetual contract under which they live in this apartment, are registered there, and have been paying for utilities and other expenses for a long time, the only threat they might face is that the father may at some point declare his intention to move into his apartment and ask his ex-wife and daughter to vacate it. In this case, they would have to file a lawsuit and prove that they have the right to reside in this apartment.
The fact that certificates from not only the father but also the ex-wife were used for the privatization of the apartment gives her grounds to go to court and ask to recognize the apartment as jointly acquired property; however, it is impossible to predict what the court's decision will be.
Regarding inheritance rights
If there is no contract with the legal owner of the apartment, it might make sense for them to try (again, through the court) to recognize the legitimacy of their residence in this apartment. But again, the court's decision is unpredictable.
The situation is entirely different if something happens to the father. In this case, if there are no children from the father's second marriage, two people will have the right to inheritance — his current wife and his daughter from the first marriage. Thus, the daughter will become the owner of half of the apartment — accordingly, the second heir (the father's widow) cannot simply "evict her onto the street"; in this case, both heirs will have to decide how to divide the remaining inherited property.
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