I would like to know if there is any recourse against my brother for the sale of my mother’s house that was willed to us both with both of our names on the agreement legal and binding that was old without my knowledge or my signature which I was told nece
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I would like to know if there is any recourse against my brother for the sale of my mother’s house that was willed to us both with both of our names on the agreement legal and binding that was old without my knowledge or my signature which I was told nece
On April 21st 2015 my mother
passed away owning a
prefabricated home in a
retirement community with a
golf course. She had prior to
this made the necessary
arrangements for my brother and
myself to be the inheritors of
this and put it on the market
after it’s sold to split the
sale amount equally. however I
was not informed until after
the sale of the house that it
had fold I never put my
signature on any of the
paperwork which I was told was
required to sell it I would
like to know if there is any
recourse that I might take
possibly get some of the money
owed to me.
Asked on February 2, 2018 under Estate Planning, Florida
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 6 years ago | Contributor
You can sue your brother if he pocketed the proceeds or otherwise diverted them to himself, his family, a business he owns, etc. If the home was willed or otherwise left to you as well as him, you had a 1/2 interest in it: you were entitled to 1/2 the proceeds (after paying any necessary costs, such as to maintain it until selling, the cost of the sale and marketing, and paying off any liens or mortgages). You could not have stopped him selling if he wanted to--when there are two or more owners and at least one wants to sell, he can bring a legal action to get a court order forceing a sale (commonly called an action "for partition"), so the main focus here is not on whether he sold it, but on the fact tht you did not get anything. Consult with an attorney about this situation: it is apt to be procedurally complex, but fundamentally, if you inherited the home as well as he, you were entitled to your share of the money, and by a lawsuit, you can force him to pay it.
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