If a house is left in all the children's name (NEED ADVISE)

[Felicia]

My DH's parents both have died and left the house in all the children's name. There are 4 children (daughter 49, son 44, son 40 (my DH), son, 37). At the time of their deaths, two of the sons still lived at home (44 and 37yo-this is a whole other story).

Anyway, the will stated that the home will be sold when the youngest (37) decides he is ready to move, then the house will be split four ways. This has been since 1999. DH has asked his brothers and sister if they wanted to "buy him out", since being named with house doesn't nothing for him. They say they can't afford to. They both have decent jobs, drive new cars, own 2 boats that are docked in very upscale clubs, yet don't have the money??? He hates the fact that live in a house without rent or mortage, only taxes, which are very low and he pays "his" share of it. He feels like he is getting screwed.

Anyone here with advise on a way to make them sell the house??? (We doubt there is!)

 

[SplshMtn99]

Wow, no advice; but I agree. He is being screwed.

I never understand why parents set wills up like this?

 

[Briar Rose 7457]

putting on my legal cap here.


though I'm not a real estate expert.


there's a certain inequity here. the siblings are living there rent free? did the parents' will say they could live at the expense of the other siblings? or did everyone just assume that the two siblings could live there without reimbursing the other owners?

what's the fair market value of the house if rented to a non owner? bet the rental value covers expenses.

get thee to a real estate lawyer. there may be a way to either force a sale or compel the ones living in the house to pay rent.

 

[TheLionKing]

Seems to me they could take a mortgage out and buy your DH out.

But why should they.... when they have it so good. Clearly the story behind this story may be why your parents wrote the will in such a way.

I guess you DH has two choices.

Live with it

or contact a real estate lawyer and see what legal options your DH has.

Is the title of the house in all the children's names?

 

[ZPT1022]

No advice, but ICK!! What an awful situation. I wonder why it was set up that way unless it was set up that way a LONG time ago when say, little brother was a baby. I would suggest consulting a lawyer about this. They should be able to tell you if there is anything to be done. It seems really wrong, you and your husband are paying taxes on this property for the other two to live there rent free. What a great deal for them. Good luck, let us know how it turns out.

 

[bfeller]

I was the executrix of my dad's will. The house was left to all 5 of us kids. 4 of us had homes and the youngest was living at home at the request of my dad when he got sick. Another story. The will stated that it was up to me to decide what to do with the house. (The big difference that I see here) But this is what we did. My younger brother couldn't get a conventional loan because he had moved from another city and did not have 1 year of consistant employment. (my dad's fault) My younger brother wanted to buy the house. We gave him a good deal. Sold it to him below market (lawyer advised us on how much he could sell it for) and then we drew up a contract between us and little brother. It was a balloon payment sort of thing. I think we gave him 3 years to pay us all a monthly fee and then at the end of 3 years he was to pay us the balance. He ended up getting a conventional loan the next year and paid us all off. He was never late with a payment either. It was nice because no one was trying to screw the other and we were all fair. I wanted everything to be legal and it did cost the estate a little more extra for the lawyer but I wanted it that way. We never regretted doing business with family.

Hope this helps, but it may all depend upon the wording of the will. Check with a lawyer.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

My advice would to not be mad at other siblings for not "buying" out your share of the home because of the way the will was set. Who wants more of this responsibility??? I sure wouldn't.

I suppose if you want to get things squared away you would have to consult an attorney. Could get hairy, hurt feelings & who knows what else. I don't know what I would do in your situation as a real estate attorney is not cheap. I'd probably go and see what options would be available for me if I was in your situation.
(without breathing a word to anyone, btw) Good Luck

 

[KimRaye]

Originally posted by Briar Rose 7457
though I'm not a real estate expert.

get thee to a real estate lawyer. there may be a way to either force a sale or compel the ones living in the house to pay rent.

Absolute ditto to BR! (I'm not a lawyer or an expert, just someone who worked for a real estate attorney for over 13 years)

Here in Cook County, Illinois anyway, there ARE ways to force a sale, etc. I didn't say they'd be cheap or easy but, there are ways.

Look at it this way, if your DH had to file bankruptcy, the courts would surely attach DH's 1/4 or, force a sale so, why can't the actual owner (your DH) do so? I'm sure it wouldn't be easy though.

Good Luck.

 

[snoopy]

When my parents died, their house was left to their 9 children, one of whom was a minor and still lived at home. We sold the house. took $10,000 off the top, and then spilt the profits nine ways. I ended up taking the $10,000 to raise my sister, the minor, although in the end it cost me a lot more than $10,000 to raise her. I spent close to that on her wedding alone.

This situation is obviously different than yours in that we had a child who obviously was too young to take care of herself. I don't know what we would have done had there still been adult children living in the home. Thats a tough call, and I'd be inclined to let them live there for a while until they got their feet firmly planted on the ground, but since 1999 is pushing it. Probably best to take BR's advice and find a good lawyer.

 

[CamColt]

First off, sorry about your in laws.
About the house, I hate to say it, but I think they messed up by making the will the way they did. We have a similar situation here where DH is getting screwed big time out of his fathers condo(BIL is getting it all). Unfortunately, without causing a rift I dont think there is much to be done. The bottom line is whats more important, the money or possibly losing family. Its stinks, trust me I know, but what can you do?

 

[Tuffcookie]

My mom was part owner of some real estate in Alabama. It was her parents old homestead. She part owned it with 2 other family members. Well, the one living in California had run thru her inheritance and was chomping at the bit to sell her portion on the property. She darn near forced a sale, which would have taken it out of the family! Luckily, another family member was in a position to finally meet her price and was able to stop the court proceedings. (which had gone pretty far by this point). After this happened, mom and the other two got together and divided the property up (it hadn't been divided into 3 parts beforehand, thus the problems) Best advice, see a real estate attorney!

TC

 

[Gail T AGAIN]

I would contact a lawyer. Seems when parents diw there is always a fued that goes on between siblings. it is so sad. I agree your husband is getting screwed, the sibling that is living there dirt cheap s taking the other siblings for a ride. If it was me I would get a realestate lawyer to see what my rights are but the way I read it the youngin can live in the house till he is ready to move, he could be 75 before he feels the need to move on...get a realestate attorney, your husband deserves answers and the money that is coming to him.

 

[MaryAnnDVC]

My father was the youngest of 5...he had 3 older brothers and one older sister. The sister never married and lived at home. About 50 years ago, both parents (my grandparents) died. My grandmother had wanted the house to be left to the 5 "kids", but with my aunt having the right to live there until she died. My grandfather wanted my aunt to get the house, since she had primarily taken care of them when they were sick, and since he was the last to die, my aunt inherited the house (and everything else).

However, had they done it the other way...leaving the house to all the siblings and letting her stay there for the rest of her life...only one sibling (an uncle) would have gotten anything, because my aunt died last October at age 90...3 years after my father died and many years after the other two siblings. But my father's and deceased uncles' shares would have gone to THEIR children, and I think that was more important to my father...I know he always felt that we...his kids...were being cheated. My cousin (65, single, no kids, and also a niece of the deceased aunt) inherited everything. I personally didn't care about the house, or the money, but there were some precious belongings of my grandparents (whom I had never met) I would have liked to have and I wonder if she sold them too.

 

[Mskanga]

This is something that I openly asked my parents not too long ago because of problems with my in laws way of doing things, they both passed away this year and there has been quite a few surprises that I would have never expected from family.
Because of that is that I spoke to my parents about it , all my siblings know about their will but since I live in a different country I never asked until this year.
My parents owe their appartment free and clear and it's valued at 30 times more than what they paid for it when they bought it , there are four children here and their will stipulates that the apartment is to be sold and the winnings to be split in four different parts , but also stipulates that if any of us should have to live in the apartment for whatever reason, the person will have to buy our parts at whatever the market value is.
I hate when people are being cheated.

 

[Doctor P]

To me, the only issue really is paying for the privilege of getting screwed here. Get a good real estate and estate lawyer to help, but it would seem to me that the real estate taxes may actually be your friend here. Unless it explicitly said in the will that everyone was to share in the costs of the taxes and let the siblings live there tax free, then what I would consider doing is refusing to pay my share of the real estate taxes (if nothing else works). This may be just the pressure needed to force a sale (even a tax sale might be better than the current situation) or a home equity loan that pays the taxes and gets paid off by the siblings who are living there.

 

[kylara]

I would also talk to a lawyer...it could be tricky. I know when my mom made her will, it is stipulated that if she dies, my sister and I get the house, but we can not sell it until my step-father decides to move out or passes away. It also states that my step father is responsible for the mortgage and taxes while he lives there. Her lawyer told her to get it all spelled out in the will so there would be no confusion.

 

[goofygirl]

Wow, this is all very confusing! But I am paying close attention, because...

my granmother owns the house I live in. Her will states that my mom, my uncle and myself will inherit the house when she dies. My uncle lives in California and has his own house, so he really doesnt want this one. So when the time comes, am I supposed to buy his share of the house if he doesnt want it?
I just hope things go smoothly! My grandmother is well, but she IS 80 years old...so...I want to be prepared...

 

[Pin Wizard]

Originally posted by Gail T AGAIN
Seems when parents diw there is always a fued that goes on between siblings. it is so sad.

Unfortunately, that's true in many cases. My sister and I were okay when my mom died. We were fair. However, I can see a small monster in my sister where our grandmother is concerned. My dad has one brother. My dad died several years ago. Our grandparents' will is set up with a right of survivorship. Everything goes to our uncle when grandma goes. That bugs my sister no end. She even tried to get grandma to change her will. My sister's irritated that eventually, everything will go to our uncle's kids and there's nothing for my dad's kids. I keep telling myself...it's just things. Things don't matter. Even though it hurts inside just a teens.