Did she get any money from the estate?
If the house would need to be sold in order to have assets for the estate division, then I could see that. She would have had the option of buying the house, at fair market value, from the estate.
She was not hurting for money. She had her own assets and she is now living in a place that is even more upscale. It wasn’t really about money. (Of course it’s always about money or power in some way. )
But he refused to tell her what he had decided. And she apparently didn’t have the option to stay there and buy it at fair market value. She would have had the money to do that.
Beyond having to move, how cruel can you be if as you are dying you work deals with your lawyer, knowing that the spouse you are leaving is hurt by it. Maybe he was afraid she’d get angry and put a pillow over his head.