Can Siblings Force the Sale of Inherited Property?

If you don’t want to hold on to an inheritance given to you by parents, you might want to sell. But you’ll need all the cards in your hand if you have to convince your brothers and sisters to sell, too.

Here are the steps on how to sell the property with (or without) your siblings.

1. Go Through Probate
2. Appraise the Property
3. Talk About a Buyout
4. File a Partition

1. Go Through Probate

Probate is the confirmation of the will left by the deceased, along with the settling of outstanding debts. Before any property is distributed, the deceased’s estate must go through probate with an appointed representative. If you are the representative, you need both the courts’ and the sibling’s permission so you can sell the house. Luckily, Texas offers some probate shortcuts, which can help speed up or even skip the probate process. It’s just a matter of asking the court to use the simplified procedures if the estate is small enough.

2. Appraise the Property

Find out how much the property is worth. Get an outside appraiser to give you a dollar amount on the home or building. That way, when you talk to your siblings about selling the home, you can give them a number to convince them to sell. The more data you have on the home, the less emotional this conversation should be. And, when you propose that you all sell the house, you can simply split the wealth between each other and be done with the process.

3. Talk About a Buyout

A buyout of your sibling’s share of the property guarantees that you own their stake, which increases the likelihood of selling. Look at the will to see how much of the property each sibling owns and see if it would be a loss if you bought them out. You could also get them to buy your share out. If you just need cash and don’t want the added cost of upkeep on a property, talk about how you can get rid of your percentage. Having a calm conversation can keep things out of court, which is the best for everyone. Try to get your desired results by talking to your siblings one-on-one.

4. File a Partition

Filing a partition action to a court asks that a legal order be made to sell the house. This is a massive step that brings in lawyers, which can put your family on edge (emotionally and financially).

When the court takes on the partition, they decide one of three things:

• Does one of the owners need to buyout the other siblings?
• Does the property need to be physically divided?
• Will the house be sold, only to have all money from the sale be split up?

Can a Partition Lawsuit Stop Once Its Started?

No, a partition lawsuit cannot stop once in progress. The property will be divided and sold, even if it’s not the results that you were hoping for. Also, this lawsuit would be at the sellers’ expense; while you may successfully partition the house, it comes at your own expense.

Also, if a buyout agreement is not made under a partition action, then the property could be put up to auction, which foregoes any possibility of you having complete ownership of the property. Once the court makes a decision, it’s final unless you decide to appeal, which could incur even more financial and emotional damage if this is a forced sale.