Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California
Will - Home Sale
Mother owns house free and clear. Will leaves house equally to the two daughters. Can the mother stipulate in the will that the home cannot be sold without BOTH daughters consent or can one force the sale if they need/want the money irregardless of the mothers wishes?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Will - Home Sale
She can make that condition in a number of ways in the will, and it can be enforceable. However, a court could still allow the sale upon petition by a beneficiary if the beneficiary could prove a sale was in the beneficiaries' best interest and still didn't frustrate the purpose of the trust. Some examples would include having no funds to maintain the house or its value was decreasing rapidly.
Re: Will - Home Sale
Mr. Johnson is correct; however, if the will leaves the property to both daughters, they will become co-tenants. Even if the Mother can make an effective requirement that the house not be sold, each co-tenant has an absolute right to a partition of the property. If one co-tenant wanted to sell the property they could file a lawsuit for partition of the property by sale and it would be likely that the court would partition and sell the property.
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