Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Florida
Is there a way without a Will?
I am trying to get my mom to make a will but no luck so far. My mom's only real monetary asset is a paid off home but it is worth about a million. I learned from other questions here that the house would pass to us (6 siblings) as ''tenants in common''. The nightmare scenario I envision, is one sibling moving into the house as a ''squatter''. One sibling wanting to sell the house and split the proceeds, another sibling wanting to rent the house, another sibling wanting to paint the house purple and use it as a hippie commune. With each of us having equal rights, we could each do what we want and no one could stop us. Eventually we would all end up bitter to each other. Am I right about this ''nightmare'' scenario? If so, how can we stop this from happening without a will from our mom. Also, without a will, could one of my siblings literally back a moving van up to the house, clean out the house of valuables (throw the rest away) and the rest of us would not be able to do a thing about it?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Is there a way without a Will?
You point out very good reasons why people should have a will and you might take another run at your mother to tell she has the power now to put in place a mechanism that will avoid a terrible family fight after she dies. No matter how many times people say that they can get along, when someone dies and there are significant assets to divide, family members all too often start horrible and ugly fights that end up with people never speaking to one another again or in terribly strained relationships. That can very very frequently be avoided with a basic will.
If the worst happens as you fear, a court can order the sale of a house with tennants in common and divide the proceeds. This is not a great time to sell, though, and it is not going to be a great time for some time I think.
As for backing the truck up to the house and stealing assets -- that can happen whether there is a will or not. It is wrong in both instances and a court can order a return of the stolen assets to the estate for proper disbursing.
Related Questions & Answers
Looking for something else?
10,200 active attorneys ready to answer your legal questions today.
Featured Attorneys
Earn additional revenue and grow your business.
