Legal Question in Real Estate Law in New Hampshire

Re: land ownership

Yes you can. As a joint owner he owes his share of expenses. It requires court action.

Re: land ownership

As a joint owner, your brother owes a pro rata share of the expenses of maintianing the land, to include property taxes. If you bring an action in court to recover these expenses, you will not be able to remove him from the deed. Another option is to file an action to partition the property, effectively having the court order the property be placed for sale at Market Value. This would give you the option of buying your brother out (obviously less his share of taxes still owed) and owning the land yourself. Contact my office if you would like to set a time to discuss this further.

Re: land ownership

You might suggest to your brother that he owes taxes on the property, and that if he wishes to keep his interest, he needs to "catch up." In the alternative, you might offer to buy him out, applying the unpaid taxes towards whatever he is entitled to, and making payments over a reasonable period of time. (Note that you will then be looking at paying transfer taxes at the registry, which you should factor in to your calculations.)

Finally, you can point out to him that everyone will be worse off if you have to go to court to partition, because you will incur legal and other expenses which could be avoided.

Because this involves the transfer of an interest in land, you really should speak with an attorney.