Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in New York

Re: Father died, no will

UNLESS YOU CAN GET SOMEONE IN THE FAMILY TO BUY YOUR SHARE, YOU WILL FIND IT DIFFICULT, IF NOT IMPOSSIBLE, TO SELL IT TO A 3RD PARTY. I AGREE THAT YOU WILL CONTINUE TO SEE A REDUCED EQUITY, AS THE CARRYING CHARGES CONTINUE (TAXES, INSURANCE, UTILITIES AND THE LIKE) UNTIL IT IS SOLD. HAVE YOU CONSIDERED TRYING TO GET THE SURROGATE'S COURT INVOLVED IN RESOLVING THIS PROBLEM? OR, HAS IT BEEN SUGGESTED THAT A SUIT FOR PARTITION BE BROUGHT TO ATTEMPT TO RESOLVE THE PROBLEM? THIS IS NOT AN UNUSUAL PROBLEM AND IS ONE THAT CAN BE RESOLVED, IF YOU PLAY HARDBALL.

Re: Father died, no will

It's possible, if your sisters will buy you or if your title is tenancy in common and not a join tenancy you can sell to an outside interest. The problem is, that unless you can get your sister's to go along, it's going to be hard to find a buyer to buy an interest in a house that they will not be able to use. In other words any purchaser of your share would be buying as an investor and would be offering a fraction of value.

Should you like to discuss this or any other legal matter, you can e-mail me for more information about low cost face-to-face, on-line, or a telephone consultation with a lawyer in our office.

Re: Father died, no will

I have the answer you are looking for: you can petition the court to appoint an appraiser and then put the house on the market for that amount.

This solution would require that the house have been on the market for more than 6 months.

There is a little more to it than I have discussed here, but you get the idea. If their intransigence over a period of time greater than 6 months is causing you a material loss, then you can get a court to break the stalemate and take charge.