Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California
I apologize, I asked this before, did not provide enough facts, and am unable to see where I reply to my previous question?
At any rate:
My oldest brother and I cared for our aging parents in their, and our, childhood home for 20 years, until they passed away, in 1999, & 2006. Mom left the house in Trust, in her name, for a period of 10 years, naming my oldest brother and I as being able to live here, the house held in Trust in her name, as a Life Estate for my oldest brother and I, for a period of 10 years after her death (from 2006-2016).
The Will states, after that 10 year period, the house will be deeded to us, with a third brother being added to the deed (Mom didn't want him to feel "left out", but she assumed with my older, helpful brother and I, the third sibling, could not force us out of the house, as we would each own 1/3rd of it).
Sadly, my helpful older brother passed away a year after or Mom, in 2007. So, in 2016, the brother who did nothing to help care for our parents, will be added to the house Deed, in equal shares. 50-50.
This surviving brother, the one who is the "problem", has made it clear, he did not want to care for our parents for the 20 year period they were alive. When our oldest brother passed away, he made it clear, all he wants is his financial share of the house.
So now the situation is, I get to live here according to the Trust until 2016, but then, the "problem" brothers name, and mine, will be added to the Deed in equal shares, 50-50 as "tenants in common". Meaning, the house will no longer be held in Trust, it will now be Deeded to myself and the "problem" brother equally as I understand it.
Mom never imagined our oldest brother would pass away so soon, she thought the two of us who helped care for her and Dad would be able to continue living here, as the "problem" brother established himself elsewhere. Therefor, the "problem" brother could not force us out. Two (sadly) against the one.
But once again, the day our oldest brother died, he expressed his desire in ONLY getting whatever money he can out of the house, implying, even if it means forcing me out of the house, forcing a sale.
Can he do this legally? I want to continue living here as Mom intended. It was the only thing she could leave my late brother and I, for caring for her and Dad for 20 years.
What are my options? I assume I can offer to buy him out, but after working part time for 20 years to care for our folks, I don't know that I will be able to have that much saved up when 2016 rolls around (and it sure feels unfair, but I understand, this is the law).
Can he "force" the sale of this house? I assume the law does not recognize the intent of the situation, the background of what my late brother and I did, and what the surviving brother did NOT do (caring for our parents), and has to go by the law?
It's my understanding, he can, but most likely won't be able to, as not many people want to buy 1/2 a property, with a "clouded" title. I am the executor or "trustee" of the Will, but don't think that carries much weight in this issue. or does it? Does it give me full rights to dictate what shall be done to the property for the duration of my life, or not?
I am anxious about all of this, as you can imagine, and hope I can find out what my legal rights are.
Any advice would be humbly and gratefully appreciated, I am in California.
2 Answers from Attorneys
Your folks should have discussed this with a good attorney before they did what they did. You can have 100 owners of a piece of real property and any one of them can force a sale. It is theoretically possible that there are options for contesting the provisions of the estate documents, but if not and you wind up with 50/50 ownership of the property, you will have to buy him out or sell if that's what he wants.
Technically, you are not living in the house under a life estate. A life estate is a tenancy that is measured by the life of a person. The duration of the estate is usually limited to the life of the person holding it, or to the life of another person. You actually have an estate for years.
When you take title at the end of the ten years, it sounds from your post that you will take title as either joint tenants or tenants in common. To answer your question, either tenant would be able to partition the property, most likely by sale. This creates what is commonly called a forced sale. Assuming that the property is not physically divisible, at that point, you would either have to buy your brother out, or the court would order the property sold, and the funds split between you.
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