Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Massachusetts
Can a legal document be drawn up which will divide equally, between 4 siblings, the proceeds from the sale of a relative's house? I have 3 siblings and, at one time or another, a close relative has promised each of us her house after she passes. She changes her mind, depending on who she is angry with at any particular moment.We have all agreed that, in order to avoid upset, we will just split the proceeds from the sale of the house. We would like to draw up an agreement so that, when the time comes, there will be no disagreements. Is this possible/
2 Answers from Attorneys
Absolutely! Our office draws up Property Ownership Agreements like the one you describe frequently. We also file partition actions in Court, where one or more of the parties wishes to be bought out or sell the property, and one or more of the parties refuses. You can read more about Partition Actions at our website. You should also know that the relative can change their mind at any time, and you do not actually own the property until the current homeowners dies.
Frankly, a will that leaves a property to four siblings is inviting disaster. The owner may simply want to design the will such that the home is ordered to be sold and divided equally by the personal representative.
Your relative should have a strong estate plan in place, which could avoid a tremendous about of hassle, attorney's fees, and heartache among siblings.
The way you draw it up will either cause it to by-pass probate or be subject to probate. the latter is a pain. I agree that the whole picture should be taken into account.
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