Legal Question in Real Estate Law in New York
Hi there - dealing with a BAD uncle.
My mother lives in Asia and has a co-op in Manhattan that was given to her by my Grandmother who recently passed. (her mother)
Bad uncle convinced my mother to add his name onto the title so that he could help manage the property.
He tried selling the co-op without my mother's knowledge, and somehow forged her signature and had it notarized (she was in Asia and could not have signed any papers here in the US). We found out and put a stop to it just before everything was finalized.
Now she wants to sell the co-op as my father passed and she is ill. We want to purchase a place for her in California near where I live, but he refuses to 1) take his name off title 2) agree to sell the property. My feeling is that he is waiting for something bad to happen to her so that the property becomes his.
We have a signed letter from him that states that he added his name onto title just so that he could help manage the property, but he claims not to remember writing/signing it.
What to do?
Help!
1 Answer from Attorneys
A partition action is when the Court orders the sale of the property and the profits from the sale are divided equitably between the parties that own the property. Although generally used for the sale of real property, a partition action also applies to cooperative shares (Chiang v. Chang, 137 AD2d 371 [1st Dept 1988]).
Therefore, your mother would have to commence a partition action against the Uncle. During the partition action she would have to prove your mother's equitable interest in the property. Ultimately, the Court would order the cooperative apartment sold with the net proceeds being distributed between uncle and mother.
Mike.
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