Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in New York

First, I am assuming that the five children each now own 20% of the house as tenants in common. If one of the five wishes to have the house sold and the others want to maintain their ownership, there are a couple of options available.

One option is that the one who wants to sell can commence an action for a partition in State Supreme Court. That is a potentially expensive and unwieldy way to proceed.

A second option, as you surmise, is that the others can buy the interests of the one who wants to sell. If they cannot afford it, they can always mortgage the house (depending upon the circumstances) to gather the money to buy out the one who wants to sell.

Also possible as a means of resolving the stalemate is for the four children to enter into an agreement with the fifth to pay the latter installment payments.

Even if one of the five children does not want the house, this may not be the best time to sell. The real estate market has languished for the past couple of years and it is a fair bet that prices will rise over the next couple of years.

Good luck to you.