Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in New Jersey

Re: Settle Estate

If you have accurately described the situation, and there are no other factors that affect this, then I can give you a little analysis.

If you and your brother own a single family home jointly and equally (I would need to see the Deed to confirm this), then you and he need to agree on what to do. If you do not agree, then you need to go to Court and ask a Judge to order that the house be sold.

You really need to talk to a lawyer about this and get some assistance.

I have done several of these, and it can be a little problem or a huge problem, depending mostly on your brother's actions.

Other factors that might affect this are, just for example: any written agreements on this? any Trust? any claim by any government agency like Medicare? or by any hospital or care provider? there are a lot more potential issues.

Please call my office if you would like my assistance. I can speak to you on the telephone, but it will take more than just a brief telephone call to assist you with these issues.

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Re: Settle Estate

Unfortunately, your mother didn't own the home once she transferred it to you and your brother, therefore it is not part of her estate and her Will does not control what happens to the home.

You do not have to go along with your brother's demands. If he wants to buy you out, he should be paying you one-half of a fair market value, not what he says it is. You may need an appraisal to establish the fair market value.

You do not owe anything for his mortgage shopping and any difference it may have caused to the interest rate he'll have to pay.

You and your brother could sell the house now and divide the net proceeds. You may also want to go along with him for the investment and sale at some future date, but you would have to share in the costs of fixing up the house, and you would be betting that the future sale price will be sufficiently higher to cover those costs and the costs of carrying the house [mortgage costs, payments, real estate taxes and utilities, etc.]and still leave a profit.

If you both share in the repair and renovation and then in the sale, you should have a written agreement as to how you each will be responsible for costs and how the net proceeds will be shared.

Re: Settle Estate

If you are accurate, and your Mom fully transferred the property to both of you (Her name is not listed on the Deed), then this is not an Estate matter. I can give you a couple options, but I would strongly recommend seeing an attorney (or at least consulting over the phone) prior to taking any action.

Option 1: List the House "As Is". Although this may be tough to get him to go along with, it is a fair option, but may take a lot of time under curent market conditions. He needs to sign off on the listing agreement. A realtor will then give a fair market value to a listing, and if it is on the money, you will generate offers near that number. If an offer comes in, you can use that number to force your brother into a purchase at approx 1/2 that value, or you can agree to accept the offer and split the proceeds.

Option 2: Sue him in Court for real estate partition. This is a process that takes several months, but you will have a definite end date....

Both sides would present appraisals, and the Judge would Order payment be made based on them or the house would be sold.

What county is the house located in? I can give more specific info if I get more info from you.

Mike Berman

Re: Settle Estate

While I generally agree with the other authors, if you cannot agree with your brother, you will probably have to bring a lawsuit for "partition" of the property. In essence, this is a suit that allows your brother either to buy you out at fair market value (FMV), or oders the house to be sold. You will need several appraisals to allow the Court to determine FMV. I must add that if the house is in poor condition, requiring more than cosmetic repairs (such as a new roof, heating system, etc.), the reasonable value of these costs will impact the final determination of FMV. Perhaps it is worth spending a few hundred dollars to have a home inspection done by a professional, to determine what repais are needed, then get estimates of what this will cost. This would give you an idea of what the house may be worth in a traditional arms-length sale, and assist you in your litigation. If the house is ordered to be sold, any buyer will have it inspected anyway, and this would impact a sale anyway.