Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in New Jersey

Re: Estate Settlement

As heirs you are equally entitled to the property, or to have it sold. In effect, you are partners in its ownership. As partners, you have the right to request partition of the property, which, essentially, is the right to have it evaluated and purchase the shares of the other partners. The Court would probably require it be appraised and evaluated. Once the Court has an appraisal, the value can then be used to determine the purchase price and allocation of shares thereof. Since this can be accomplished privately, there would be no broker commission, which would enlarge the share of the value going to all heirs. The Judge could also open it to bidding among the siblings, using the appraisal as an opening bid. He could also limit the time period for bidding and terms of sale, so I suggest having an appraisal and a standby mortgage commitment when you start the proceedings, using them as part of your action. Sorry the siblings cannot agree among themselves and that a court proceeding may be necessary to resolve this.