I have been my mother's live in caregiver for the last four years and sadly she passed one week ago and the funeral was yesterday. One of my sisters wanted to go back out to the cemetery today so I went with her. While there, she took that as an opportunity to tell me that she and my other sister have decided to do a quick sale and I have two weeks to get out. Can they legally do that? They want to sell the house for a third of what it is worth. The will stipulates that the proceeds are to be divided equally three ways, but I have depleted all my savings etc. so when they kick me out of my home of the last four years where I cared for my mother 24/7 when they did not. Basically, I am going to end up homeless after all this. My sister even told me to take my dog to a shelter. No way!!! I'd rather take my sisters to a shelter. Any words of wisdom from the forum?
Immediate term answer: you do not have to leave in two weeks because your sisters want you to leave, and the house probably cannot be legally sold in two weeks either. Even if they had legal standing to evict you, that process would take several weeks and include a court hearing. Even if your sisters own a majority interest in the house, it is not their home - that means they do not have a legal right to enter the house without your permission either. Change the locks and call the police if they try to force themselves into your home.
Longer term answer: You need to see a lawyer immediately. Who is the executor of the will? The house probably cannot be sold for several months and will require either your agreement or the agreement of a court to be sold. In my state, there is a requirement to wait six months for all claims against the estate to surface before any assets (other than funeral costs) can be distributed. Also in my state, if you leave your home and job to move in with a parent and provide their care for two years, you can get the parent's house (there's lots of other conditions) - that's one of the "claims" against the estate that could surface. You may be able to file a claim against the estate for care giving that wouldn't give you the house but would provide a larger share of the estate. That's why it's so important to see a lawyer and get help determining what your options are.
Your sisters may be trying to intimidate you into agreeing to vacate and a quick sale because they need/want some money quickly. If there is a will that's not going to happen. If the house's deed conveyed the property outside of the will, then that's still not going to happen without your consent.
The days of DPOA & elder law atty are over.
Whatever you do do you do NOT sign off on anything.
At a minimum they have to, HAVE TO, buy you out at 1/3 of FMV - fair market value of the property with property sold open market by a Realtor. If Will reads 1/3 division they cannot do anything but that. They cannot sell house on their own, it has to have a legal format in which to sell a property owned by your late mom. That’s what probate does. I’d bet they want you to sign off something that states you give up your heirship.....
She is trying to Buffalo you into being subservient & if you sign off for less than 1/3 of fmv your being a door mat. Not to sound harsh, but they view you as that as you’ve caregiven for zero all these years and view it as your lucky as you got free rent.
Find the last tax assessor bill and take that to the meeting with the atty. and if you can drive around and jot down all the property for sale in the area and then google what their listed for. If they have those Realtor boxes with a For Sale sheet, get out of the car and grab a couple. You on your own can’t go all nuclear on the Sisters but your atty can. & will enjoy it! Probate guys that do litigation are real Pitt bullies, the Sissies will have met beyond their match. Good luck.
I don't know the value of course, but assuming 180 (just to make the numbers are easy) that would mean your evil (and yes, they sound evil to me) sisters want to sell it for 60. 20 of that is yours, so you could buy them out for 40, less than one fourth of the value. And less than one fourth would apply no matter what the real value is. While your sisters are evil to push you into this, is there a way you could make lemonade out of lemons in this case?
So sorry about Mom and what you are going thru. You know what they say "No good deed goes unpunished"
Keep us updated.
I believe probate takes a long time. Find out in your state.
There are free lawyers advice forums you can ask online. Try to find one in your state. Of course they will only offer a bit of advice. They will tell you hire a lawyer too.
Your dog is your dog. Your siblings don't have the right to tell you what to do. There are apartments that take dogs. I lived in one.
I know what it is like to have the vultures swoop in. They are hoping you won't push back. Stand up for your rights. You could have said no to the price of the flowers since you weren't asked before it was bought. I have a feeling your siblings do what they want and expect you to go along with it.
If they send anyone over to look at the house you don't have to let them in. Make sure siblings can't get access either. Keep us posted.
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