Can a verbal contract stands after a death?

Yes some verbal agreements would stand but most real estate agreements need to be in writing. A rent to own agreement of this nature has to be in writing & signed by all parties to be legally binding.

If the tenant is on a verbal month to month agreement then the wife can serve them a written notice to vacate in accordance with your state laws at any time. She does not have to give a reason in most states.

The tenant has no ownership rights at all from what little you posted.

This contract wouldn't even stand if the guy were still alive and changed his mind. Verbal contracts are nearly worthless in real estate matters.

In the US, here is no such thing as an ENFORCEABLE verbal contract when it comes to the SALE of real property. Rental agreements of less than one year can be verbal, but nothing that involves the eventual transfer of title. Sales agreements must, by law, be in writing. People get themselves into oral agreements for buying property fairly often - ignorant people, that is - and once in a while, one actually works out. Mostly, they don't work out, and in NO case is one enforceable against either party.

The tenant has no recourse. The wife may legally evict the tenant.

Of course she has the right to kick them out. There is no proof this agreement even existed. If they did something like this with no legal paperwork, sorry but they're just plain stupid. Even if there had been paperwork, they would not have just owned the home without paying off the rest.

No way to prove a verbal contract, especially if one person dies.

The tenants do not own the home. They never did. Yes, the wife can kick them out:

1. They are only tenants, that's all they ever were, so LL/tenant law applies.

2. There was no contract in place that anyone can prove. The law will see their payments simply as rent in lieu of any contract.

3. There is no breach, as there was no real contract.

Verbal contracts are worth the paper they are written on ;). There is no proof the contract ever existed and the payments would be treated as rent by the court. The tenant is out of luck.

Verbal contract to purchase real estate are NOT encorceable under any circumstance.

The tenant has no written proof of this 'contract' so it doesn't exist the house belongs to the person whose name is on the deeds and after their death will form part of their estate and be passed on to whoever legally inherits......

No, it can be disputed. Contracts such as this needs to be in writing.

There was no contract if this was in the United States. ALL real estate contracts MUST be in writing.