What are my rights to the proceeds from the sale of my late father’s house?
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What are my rights to the proceeds from the sale of my late father’s house?
My father died and I, the youngest son, stayed in our family home. The other 2 went on about their lives. I paid off the mortgage and have tried to maintain property taxes and Hoa fees but have fallen behind. I want to sell. Do the other 2 heirs get a portion from the sale of the property even though they have not bothered to help maintain payments?
Asked on December 14, 2017 under Estate Planning, Texas
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 6 years ago | Contributor
If there was no will, all children inherit equally. Therefore, all are entitled to an equal share of the proceeds from it. You were not forced to make those payments: you chose to do so. (E.g. you could have refused to make payments for which you were not legally obligated.) Also, you gained a benefit from those payments: you write that you stayed in the house, so you got to live there, at least for a time, due to making those payments. When someone voluntarily does something they are not required to do, they cannot claim any extra rights or benefits due to their voluntary choice--especially when, as here, they did get a benefit along the way (living there) from what they did. So because you and your siblings are equal owners and/or have equal inheritance rights, because your payments were voluntary, and because you derived a personal benefit from those payments, the payments do not entitle you to anything more than your 1/3 share (as one of three heirs) of the proceeds.
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