Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Colorado

If the will does not leave you any guidance, then the five children must agree on the appropriate use of the house. You may just be dealing with a temporary residence pending sale of the house, but if you are thinking of a longer term of time you definitely need a written agreement. If the children can not agree, the house should be sold and the proceeds distributed in accordance with the will. If you decide to have one of the children live in the house, you should document the arrangement to avoid future misunderstandings. If the children have difficulty reaching an agreement, you may want to sit down with an attorney to help you draft an agreement.

Dennis E. Valentine

www.devalentine.com

One additional consideration is that one of the children, or a group of some of the children, can be the ones to purchase the house. It must be purchased for the fair market value, in other words for the same price that you would sell it to someone else for. No sweetheart deals unless all of the children can agree on it. If there is not a mortgage to deal with, you may be able to come to an agreement to determine the fair market value, and then the one(s) who are purchasing the house may only have to come up with enough to buy out the shares of those who don't want to keep the house. There are mediators who specialize in handling cases like yours if you need a little help working out an agreement. Definitely document the agreement and make sure each of you has a copy of it. As my colleague pointed out, an attorney may be able to help you draft the agreement.