Hi, Richlene, welcome to the Fool.

The home and yard work is a big pain, isn't it! I wish I could hire out some of the yard work, but live in a place where that is not really possible. Home maintenance is another issue. Something always needs work on a house, and crises like roof/plumbing issues can be nasty.

That said, I'm keeping my house for awhile because I like living there, it's convenient to work, and the yard works well for my dog.

In the Fool archives you can find lengthy debates about owning/paying off a house versus not paying off and versus renting, with good arguments for all sides. So much depends on your personal circumstances and feelings about risk. For me, after my DH passed away I worried a lot about possible future income/market changes (was right about the latter!) so I made additional payments on the principal of my house and paid it off early. For the last three years or so I've had no house payments, and have to say that this has made me feel a lot safer.

The paperwork. Isn't it stunning that you get hit with all that at such a low point in your life. It's so hard.

In terms of the emotional issues, reading the past posts on this board, and the death and grieving board, while painful, might give you some comfort. I can't say enough about the variety of issues, information and support available on the Fool. I started out just looking at stock and financial planning information, but now follow a variety of boards, mostly not stock related.

You may also want to check out the widownet, a more active place for widow issues:
http://www.fortnet.org/WidowNet/