How do we avoid the sale of a home when there are multiple owners on a deed?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
How do we avoid the sale of a home when there are multiple owners on a deed?
My aunt tricked my grandmother into signing her portion of the home to her (my aunt). My aunt wants to sell the home now, she owns 2/3. My mother owns 1/3 of the property and doesn’t want to sell, niether does my grandmother. What should we do?
Asked on June 21, 2009 under Real Estate Law, New York
Answers:
M.D., Member, California and New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 15 years ago | Contributor
New York provides an equitable remedy known as partition. The term “partition” means the division of property among co-owners. Real property held by co-owners as a tenancy in common or a joint tenancy may be partitioned.
If a property can be physically divided the Court will so instruct. However, here division would be impracticable since we are dealing with a single family dwelling. In this instance, the Court will either (1) order a sale of the property and an equitable division of the proceeds among the co-owners; or (2) order a partition which would permit one co-owner to purchase the interest of the remaining co-owner instead of a physical division of the property or a court-ordered sale.
So basically you can sell the house or buy out your aunt. It's unfortunate it comes down to this but legally those are your options.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.