Inheritance or not
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Inheritance or not
Before my mom died she did a quit clam
deed to my sister only so she could get
the deed and sell the house to split
between the three of us the house sold a
month ago. If this is an inheritance
shouldn’t she split the money 3 ways and
we each pay a 3rd of taxes base on fair
market value of the house at time of
death. Is the fair market value what the
county says it’s worth or is it base on
sales of other house of same size in the
area
Asked on January 20, 2019 under Real Estate Law, Oklahoma
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 5 years ago | Contributor
It's not an inheritance--your sister is right. Regardless of what your mother intended, she gave the house to your sister while she (your mother) was still alive; her quitclaiming the home to your sister meant that house then belonged to your sister, not your mother, and so was not part of her estate. Neither the house nor the proceeds of it are inherited by anyone, since it is your sister's property. She can do with it whatever she likes. She can choose to give you and your other sibling if she wants, but she has to choose voluntarily to do that--you can't make her give you any part of the profit from her own property.
If she does choose to sell it, the value of the home and any profit is not based on abstract or hypotheticals, like the county's valuation or what comparable homes go for: it will based on what she actually sells it for, less any costs of sale and paying off any mortgages or liens,. If she sells it, she will have to pay the taxes on the sale, since she is the one profiting by selling her property. If she chose to give away any part of that profit, she'd bve gifting her own money to you and your other sibling.
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