Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Pennsylvania

Your post is really confusing.

It is easy to sell land and divide the money by 6. However, if one sibling wants it then the sibling has to buy out the shares of the other 5. Let's assume the land is worth $180,000 free and clear and that $180,000 is fair. Then the sibling who wants the land has to pay each of the other 5 siblings $30,000. Where the sibling gets the $30,000 for each sibling is a separate issue.

You raise a separate issue. Just so I understand, the sibling who wants to buy the land has a retarded son. Being the legal payee for Social Security purposes tells me nothing. Is the son a legal adult? Has he really been diagnosed with mental retardation? Has he been adjudicated incompetent by a court and your sibling appointed as theg guardian? There are some individuals who are highly functioning, even though mentally handicapped and I don't know where this individual falls.

If your sibling is the legal guardian, then the guardian can only use the son's money for the benefit of the son. I suppose one could argue that buying a home is for the son's benefit if the son is going to live there. However, if the retarded son cannot enter into a contract then his guardian would have to do it for him. That is another reason for your sibling to seek guardianship.

I think you need to see a real estate litigation attorney before this is done. If the retarded son or his guardian is buying the home and paying full fair market value, then your sibling would be entitled to 1/6th of the proceeds. However, if the retarded son or his guardian is buying the home but only paying 5/6 of the market value, then the son's father should not get a 1/6th share.

If nobody can agree and the sibling does not want to pay full price and wants his 1/6th share, then any of you can bring what is called a partition action. In a partition action, the property will be sold and the money will be split 6 ways after any costs of the sale are deducted.