Sibling refusing to sell inherited house

[Goigly]

My sibling and I were left 50/50 if our mothers house.
sibling has a house and has a mortgage on it.
I want to sell mother's house and split the money but sibling is refusing and living mostly in the house saying they are going to rent out the house they own then move full time into the house we both own.

I dont want this sibling in my life they have always been greedy and controlling and again now they are keeping me in a certain financial situation which leaves me with my money tied up in a house I don't want and in a worse financial position than the sibling which is the real reason why they are doing it.

How do I take what's mine and leave this awful creature for good?

[des8]

Who obtained the grant of probate and acted as executor?

Has the change of ownership of the house been registered with Land Registry?

[Goigly]

Everything is done we were both executors of the will and everything went to us 50/50.

[ostell]

So you are going to charge him rent for staying in the house? The Normal applicable commercial rate of course.

Or you get a valuation and he buys you out

[des8]

So the house is registered in your joint names.
I don't suppose there is a deed of trust setting out the relationship with your sibling.

If you cannot come to an agreement with your brother, perhaps to buy you out, (and I would recommend you try mediation first) you can always apply to the courts for an order for sale.
There is no guarantee it would be granted, but it could be expensive.

[Goigly]

If I charged rent whilst that is going on would it be half of the usual price as the house belongs to both. Tbh I don't think I'd see a penny of it even if I did charge.

I don't have enough money for legal fees especially if I lost.

[ostell]

So if he didn't pay the rent then small claims court.

[des8]

what was the EXACT wording of the will?

[Goigly]

It says that the whole estate is to be diverted ded 50/50 between us.

From what you be read about going to court for this and then going to small claims court all of which I can't afford, people who do this crap have the upper hand and complete control, they are free to do what they want.

If I had said to the sibling in the beginning"brilliant I've always wanted to own half this house I'm keeping it" you can guarantee they'd be pushing for a sale

[des8]

I doubt that is the exact wording of the will !

Don't just give up and roll over.

There are solicitors who specialise in contentious probate who will work on a conditional fee (no win no fee) basis.
You can look for a solicitor initially here: https://solicitors.lawsociety.org.uk/

[Goigly]

Thanks for all your help des I'll look that up

[Mace Windu]

I’m in exactly the same position. My Father passed away late last year and his Will left the estate 50/50 between myself and my Sister. Whilst I’d like to sell the property ASAP she intends to move in and keep it for herself. Whilst there is no mortgage there is a charge over the property from the county council for the cost of his care. The only way for this to be repaid is for the property to be sold but for some reason the council seem very laid back about the whole thing and don’t seem to be any hurry to take any action.
Both of us are named as Executors but obviously there is only one “original” Will.
Initially she blocked my Fathers solicitor from releasing the Will to me and I did the same pending legal advice. My solicitor got an undertaking from her that she would honour my Fathers wishes and I would be named joint Executor on the paperwork. My solicitor then advised the Will could be released to her to avoid any further delay.
Since then she has not done anything with the paperwork and is not taking any action….and seems to be deliberately delaying things.
I was diagnosed with cancer last year and when I spoke to her for an update she was pretty forthright in saying “I’m just waiting for you to die before doing anything then I can have the whole thing anyway”
Have to say the whole thing is really stressing me out not helping my health.

[des8]

Mace Windu if you are seeking assistance please keep your posting to your own thread.
It becomes confusing if you post here , there and everywhere

[Mace Windu]

Mace Windu if you are seeking assistance please keep your posting to your own thread.
It becomes confusing if you post here , there and everywhere

Point taken but I was more commiserating with the original poster that I’m in pretty much the same position as they are.

[Irina]

I had a similar problem.

My Mother sadly died in 2017. Her Will was simple and stated her estate was to be split equally between my 2 siblings and I.

My brother is sole executor and he is also one of the beneficiaries. My brother moved in with my mother a few years before her death to care for her and, although not an easy task to care for an elderly person with dementia, his key driver was the fact his career was on the rocks and he was struggling financially. He got rid of my mother’s professional carer and my mother compensated him very generously financially, as well as giving him a free roof over his head.

The house where my brother was living with my mum was a major estate asset after my mum’s death. It was mortgage and debt free.

My brother had indicated he would find a job within 6 months of my mother’s passing and would then move forward with the sale of another estate property (a commercial building) and then, when he had enough money behind him from the proceeds of the commercial property, would sell the house.

18 months passed and nothing had been put on the market although the grant of probate went through within a year.

When I pushed him, he refused to sell either property, refused to pay rent, got aggressive and vindictive. He was spending estate funds on maintaining his free £1 million home too - gardener, furniture, decor, cleaning etc.

He just assumed i think that I couldn’t afford a solicitor and his behaviour got worse and worse.

But I wasn’t going to roll over and I found a solicitor who was prepared to represent me on account and would wait however long it took until I received my inheritance for payment of legal fees.

My brother got a solicitor too, and used estate funds to fight me. He even marked this expenditure on the accounts as ‘Estate Defence Costs’!…… However, my brother’s solicitor conceded without a fight at the merest whiff of Court action that both properties must be sold immediately and the proceeds equally distributed. There have been other issues too around the accounts and suspected executor fraud, but it cost me a relatively small amount of a few thousand to get my brother to move out and sell.

I don’t regret fighting it at all, or spending the money to get what my mother intended I receive. I didn’t pay a penny in legal fees until I’d received my share of proceeds from the house sale and the bill wasn’t exorbitant.

My mother would have been appalled by brother’s behaviour after her death, and would have cut him off without a penny if she could have foreseen what he was going to do while she was still alive! She wasn’t a lady to be messed with. Also, if I’d of done nothing my brother would still to this day be insisting on living in the home rent free and dipping into estate funds as he wanted, as well as using the rental income from the commercial property to pay his bills. He was even driving my Mum’s car for 2 years after her death until my solicitor insisted he sold that too.

I’m not sure if this has helped, but I’m happy to answer any further questions you have about my experience if that’s useful to your predicament.