Legal Question in Real Estate Law in District of Columbia

If the will left the property to all 3 of the siblings, all 3 own it regardless of who pays the taxes or other bills related to the property. With that said, all 3 of you are legally liable for the portion of the bills, taxes, etc., that are owed in proportion to the percentage of the property you own. So, for instance, if you each own one third of the property, you each must pay one third. The problem, of course, is that if your brother does not pay his share of the taxes, you will eventually lose the property through tax liens and foreclosures so you will have to pay his portion for him.

You have 2 options.

1. Pay your brother's portion of the taxes to keep title to the property clear and then sue your brother periodically to recover these amounts.

2. The better option would be to hire a DC real estate attorney to file a "partition" action. This is where you ask the court to force a sale of the property and divide the proceeds between the 3 siblings according to your percentage of ownership. Whoever wants to stay in the house can offer to buy out the others as part of the partition. If your brother doesn't want to sell to you and your sister, then the house will go on the market for sale.

Best of luck.******The above is for informational purposes only and does not create an attorney-client privilege.*******