I have just started reading the novel The House of Birds by Morgan McCarthy. Early days but the premise of the book is that Kate inherits a rambling dilapidated house from an aunt she disliked.
Just wondering, could she have formally declined the bequest? It is likely to cost more in time and money more than it's worth to renovate.
You can say you don't want a bequest, would make more sense to accept anything offered and sell it, and then donate the proceeds though. It's what a friend did when she Inherited her father's estate. ( he had sexually abused her and her two sisters when they were sub teens) apart from a new car, which she needed for her work the rest went to charities supporting survivors of similar abuse.