The house was the stepfather's and upon your mother's death, his family should inherit.
The attorney says that anything within the house goes with it, so move it all out! Have the sale now or put it all in storage. Buy or rent cheap throwaway furniture for your mother's use. Don't leave anything in there that the vultures can't have when the time comes.
I posted to this thread because my wife is in almost exactly the opposite situation. Her mother and father shared their lives for over 50 years before she died three years ago. I can only imagine the loneliness he felt after she passed - such that IMHO it clouded his judgement about the woman he married only a few months ago. He's absolutely smitten with a woman no one else can stand. Communications with them aren't strained, they're nonexistent.
He's in his late 70's and in poor health. He made a will, but may have altered it since the wedding. It was only through efforts from all of his children, along with his lawyer, that he was convinced to draw up a prenuptial agreement. I fear that upon his death, the house my wife and her siblings grew up in, along with all of treasures her parents built up over a lifetime, all go to a gold digger and her worthless family.
Does that put a different complexion on things?
I guess it's a matter of perspective. Personally, I'd sooner lose it all than have my mother spend her remaining days on "cheap throwaway furniture". I'd forfeit the entire estate in order to ensure her comfort for the few years she has left.
Who's the vulture? Who took mom's stuff from mom?