Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Texas
My mother died 14 years ago without a will. I have 6 sisters, one of which has since passed away, also without a will, this sister has only one daughter. This leaves myself, 5 sisters and 1 niece from my deceased sister with the inherited property. 3 sisters and 1 niece have signed their inherited part to one sister, still leaving myself and 2 sisters owning the property. Since the other members signed their part to one specific sister does this mean that myself and my other sister that have not signed anything over have less say so in the property or does it only mean that there are less owners? Can the sister that got the other members to sign their part over to her make the remaining 2 sign our parts over to her? I do have an afidavit of heirship that was filed soon after my mother passed away. All it states is that my mother did not have a will at the time of her death and names myself and my sisters as owners of the property. My sister who lives in the house refuses to let anyone in and has padlocked the gates. This is something that has gone on for many years and my remaining sister and myself would very much like to sell our parts but we cannot afford an attorney to begin the procedure.
I would just like to know whether my sister that lives in the house can actually force us to sign our parts to her?
2 Answers from Attorneys
From what you have written, the sister living in the house has no legal right to force anyone else to convey their share(s) of the house to her.
You have a problem. The sister who has barricaded herself in the house is attempting to adversely possess it. Who is paying the property taxes? How much % of the property does she own? You have a few remedies available. First, you can sue for the reasonable rental value of your share of the home, and you can apply to the court for a 'partition' which would force the sale. You would need to hire a lawyer, though.
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