Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in West Virginia
Can a house and property be up for sale or auction because one heir wants this?
the adopted daughter has offered five grandchildren $1500 for their part of the property and house. My son is one of the heirs and he thinks that she has taken money from the checking account, she had power of attorney when the grandmother was alive, and made repairs to the house and told everyone that she paid for the repairs. Now she has bought out the four other grandchilren for $1500 a piece because she knew they needed money. My son says he would like to keep the house in the family but she says she will have it put on the auction or sold if he doesn't take the money she is offering. What are his rights as an heir and would he lose everything if he does not except her offer? This house is sitting on 7 1/2 acres of land, has 3 or 4 bedrooms, a gazebo and full size garage. She says she had it appraised and the appraiser said it was only worth $60,000 because it needed a few repairs.
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Can a house and property be up for sale or auction because one heir wants this?
The appraisal which you've referenced sounds like B.S. for a property which includes 7.5 acres and a house(even if it needs "a few repairs" and is located in the Mountain State).
Your account of matters would lead me to conclude that this adopted daughter of the deceased grandmother appears to
be attempting to work a scam upon the
other heirs, including your son (and, apparently, is having some success at it).
It is true, however, that if this adopted daughter has now managed to
inveigle her way into legal ownership of any part of the property, that she,
like any other owner(including your son), would then have the right to file what's called a partition suit in the appropriate West Virginia Court which would likely result in the property being sold(for fair market value)and the proceeds then divided proportionately between the record owners at the time of such sale.
I would suggest that your son now obtain his own appraisal as to what the fair market value of this property might be, and under no circumstances should he agree to sell his interest for a paltry $1500. And I would further suggest that if you or your son is confused or in doubt about any other issues which may arise out of this matter that you seek the advice of a West Virginia attorney in the area where the property is located and who is knowledgeable regarding the law of real property and probate matters.
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