Can I make my sister personal representative pay me 4 rent?

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Can I make my sister personal representative pay me 4 rent?

My mother passed 4 years ago intestate. She left a house that was paid 4, my sister and I were both living with her when she died. My sister told me that I had to move out so she could sell the house. My sister lived there even moved her family in for 4 yrs. She just listed the house 2 months ago and it sold in 7 days. My mom had no debt. I had to pay $1300 a month to live while she lived for free and now she even expects me to pay half the taxes for the 4 years. The house was half mine; can I get rent?

Asked on March 22, 2019 under Estate Planning, Colorado

Answers:

SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney

Answered 5 years ago | Contributor

No, you can't get rent from another person who had equal ownership interests or rights as you do--so if the house was left to you and your sister (which is what "the house was half mine" implies), you can't make your co-owner pay rent for living in property she partially owned.
Furthermore, even if your sister was not an owner, you can't impose an obligation to pay rent after the fact--i.e. after she has lived there. You can only make people pay rent (or sue them for not paying) if there was an agreement before they lived there that they had to pay. If there was no agreement in place before or while she lived there that she'd have to pay, you cannot change the terms under which she'd lived there now.


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