Inheritance - advice needed regarding family home and brother refusing to allow sale to go through

[Brendan Burgess]

If there is a lesson for others out of all of this, never leave a property in your will to be shared between siblings,

Yes. I have been saying this for a long time.

You might make some adjustment to allow for someone under the age of 21 to have a right of residence until they are 21.

 

[Clamball]

It is now normally 23 when in full time education so 23 may be better than 21?

 

[Salvadore]

My brother has mire or less said he is staying put and not selling the hoyse.

To what extent has it been pointed out to him that this isn’t really a matter for him to decide? Would a solicitor’s letter to him pointing out the reality of his situation make the difference?

My siblings would like their share, but I'm not sure what to do about it. Or if it is worth it.

Well you have an obligation to discharge the will in accordance with its provisions. It will only take one of your other five siblings to insist you make the necessary efforts. If it reduces the value of the estate to nearly nothing, so be it.

House probably worth about €190,000

So it would cost the brother less than that to buy you out. Not a small sum of money but a fairly manageable mortgage even for a single person.

I think we’d all like a free house but regrettably there are none available.

 

[misemoi]

So you would each be entitled to 27k if you sold. Less fees of maybe 1k for estate agent, legal fees. You have to assess whether or not taking legal action to force the sale is worth this to each sibling. Is this a life changing amount for any of you, assuming that you will only recover a portion of it after any legal fees to enforce, including the value of your time and energy in the process?

While it is against your parents wishes, would it also be their wish that you all fell out over it and brought stress into your lives? It is a horrible situation to be in but we can probably all quote cases like this in our families or communities and no-one is the winner except those collecting fees. It is so hard to walk away from what was probably hard earned and cared for by your parents but in some cases that is the sanest thing to do. It may be difficult with so many parties involved (then add in partners who might be too). And if you do, try to not revisit. Make the decision final.