# selling co-owned property without co-owners permission



## DaraObriain (24 Oct 2009)

Hello,

My 5 brothers  and I were  left an equal  share in  our uncles home in  his will.

All of us except one brother wants to  sell the property  quickly.  

Do  we have the right to sell the property without his consent or signature?

  Dara


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## Billo (24 Oct 2009)

Who's the executor of the will ? 
 IMHO He/she  should decide on whether to sell or not.


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## DaraObriain (24 Oct 2009)

My uncle never married so  we are his only  family. My eldest brothers wife (as he has passed away)  and my second oldest brother are named as the executors.


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## mf1 (24 Oct 2009)

DaraObriain said:


> My uncle never married so  we are his only  family. My eldest brothers wife (as he has passed away)  and my second oldest brother are named as the executors.



Is your brother who does not  want to sell  an executor? If yes, it could be tricky. 

If no, then, frankly, unless the brother who does not want to sell is in a position to buy all the others out, then the executors should heed the wishes of the remaining beneficiaries and sell.  It makes far more sense for the executors to sell and distribute the proceeds rather than vest the property in all the beneficiaries who then look for an order for partition and sale. 

Messy.

mf


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## Yorrick (25 Oct 2009)

This is a matter where you should of course get good legal advice. If one brother continues to object to the sale of the property it may be necessary to go to the Courts to get an order to sale. In the the U.S this is called a "partition action"
The Courts do take high regard to the wishes as expressed in the deceaseds will. The Uncle obviously wanted each of his nephews to have a share of his estate. Common sense which the Court would take notice of would indicate that the best way to ensure equal share is to sell and divide the income by six.

I do not believe that you could sell without all six consenting either voluntarily or having to sell to comply with  a Court Order. In any case no Solicitor would advise a client to buy the property unless it was clear that he/she would have total ownership. The Land Registry would also decline to register the property.

Seek legal advice. I have had some experience of this but common sense prevailed in the long run without having to spend more on legal fees and the property was sold..


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## Billo (25 Oct 2009)

DaraObriain said:


> My uncle never married so  we are his only  family. My eldest brothers wife (as he has passed away)  and my second oldest brother are named as the executors.



I do'nt think that the wife would take over as executor if an executor dies, so that would leave one surviving executor, the second eldest brother. I may be wrong.


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## mathepac (25 Oct 2009)

+1
Unless it is specified in the will, e.g. "my nephew Tom or upon his death, his widow / relict Mary",  I don't think executorship is a responsibility that can be "inherited".


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## Bluebells (26 Oct 2009)

Billo said:


> I do'nt think that the wife would take over as executor if an executor dies, so that would leave one surviving executor, the second eldest brother. I may be wrong.





mathepac said:


> +1
> Unless it is specified in the will, e.g. "my nephew Tom or upon his death, his widow / relict Mary",  I don't think executorship is a responsibility that can be "inherited".



The OP said that his brothers wife was _named_ as Executor


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## csirl (27 Oct 2009)

> I do not believe that you could sell without all six consenting either voluntarily or having to sell to comply with a Court Order. In any case no Solicitor would advise a client to buy the property unless it was clear that he/she would have total ownership. The Land Registry would also decline to register the property.


 
I dont think this is correct. The property does not belong to the brothers - so he has no right to object to a sale. It belongs to the estate of the deceased person. 

Usually where a piece of property is concerned, unless all beneficiaries agree on what to do with the property, the Executors are obliged to sell the property within a reasonable timeframe and divide the proceeds between the beneficiaries in accordance with the wishes of the deceased. This is known as an Executors sale and is a very common occurance. There are no issues with registration of the title - its very clean cut in these circumstances - more clean cut that a lot of sales. In fact, a lot of estate agents regard executors sales as easier than regular sales as they dont have to worry about the seller being caught in a chain, they know the property will be sold and will be sold within a certain timeframe.


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## z104 (3 Feb 2010)

What happens if the one person who does not want to sell frustrates the sale by removing for sale signs and vandalising the property to deter would be purchasers?


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## bond-007 (3 Feb 2010)

Call the Gardaí. That is criminal damage.


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## z104 (12 Jul 2010)

bond-007 said:


> Call the Gardaí. That is criminal damage.


 

What if you do not have proof but know for sure based on threats to damage, timings and previous history that it could not be anybody else.


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