Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Massachusetts

The Executor makes the decisions as to who is allowed to stay and who is not. You said your mother left the home 50/50 to each daughter. Did she leave the home that way or her estate that way?

If she left the home directly to the two daughters as a specific gift, then as an owner you have the right to stay there.

One option, if you can afford it, is to buy your sister out of the home.

Please feel free to call me tomorrow if you have additional questions.

Real estate passes at time of death. As a result, both sisters became owners upon Mother's death and either one can live there. An Executor may have the right or even the obligation to sell the property. As such, the Executor may need to go to Court to force a sister to move out. In the absence of such an order, the sister who wants to sell may have to file an action to partition the property and force a sale.

I am sorry for your loss of your Mother.

You should consider retaining an attorney to negotiate a fair division of the equity in the home, title to which apparently passed as tenants in common to both sisters, such that either or both have a right as owners from the date of Mother's death to live there. Unless agreement can be reached, the one wishing to sell may have to file a Petition to Partition the property to force a sale if a buyout is not possible