If amother dies and leaves a vacation property to2 daughters, what happens if 1 wants to sell and 1 does not?
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If amother dies and leaves a vacation property to2 daughters, what happens if 1 wants to sell and 1 does not?
The 1 that wants to keep it cannot afford to buy out the other. Can she by law be forced to sell?
Asked on November 21, 2011 under Real Estate Law, Wisconsin
Answers:
M.D., Member, California and New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 13 years ago | Contributor
Yes, she can be forced to sell. I the law there exists a legal remedy known as "partition". This is a legal action available to joint property owners when they cannot agree as to whether or not to sell property (or about other ownership matters). This action allows for the division of property if it can be physically divided (e.g. as in the case of raw land). However, in a case where division would be not be practical (e.g. a single family house) a court would order a "sale in lieu of partition" and a distribution of the proceeds would be made on an equitable basis among the owners.
Note: Before a sale would be ordered, the co-owner(s) would first be allowed to buy out the owner(s) who wanted to sell. The sales price would be based in the then existing fair market value.
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