What to do about a disagreement regarding inherited property?
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What to do about a disagreement regarding inherited property?
My husband and his sister inherited his parents’ house 3 years ago. The house value is around $400,000. Since his sister didn’t want to sell, his friend moved in. Earlier this year, his sister wanted to buy the house (at a low price around $270,000), so his nephew could move down there. He didn’t mention it to me until he received the paper. I didn’t feel like being taken advantage of by his sister all the time so I didn’t agree and refused to sign. Actually I don’t want to sell her that house at all. I just foundout tonight that his friend was asked to move out by his sister last month, and his nephew has moved in for several weeks. After his nephew’s wife finishes school, she is going to move down there also. No rent; no staying time mentioned. I don’t want his nephew’s family staying there free forever. Since my husband is not going to do anything, what’s my right to ask his nephew out?
Asked on October 16, 2010 under Real Estate Law, Florida
Answers:
M.D., Member, California and New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 13 years ago | Contributor
Actually, at this point you may just want to sell the property and be done with all of this. In cases where joint owners cannot agree on the whether or not to sell a jointly owned piece of real estate, the party seeking the sale can go to court and file an action for “partition”. Since this is a single family residence and cannot be divided, a “partition by sale” can be ordered by the court. Once the property is sold, the proceeds are equitably distributed to the owners.
Note: Before a sale would be ordered, typically the court would permit the non-filing co-owner (ie your husband's sister) to purchase the interest of the remaining co-owner for fair market value.
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