     Anonymous | Friday, March 24, 2000 - 06:51 pm 
My father died in 1985, my mother died in 1993. Neither of them had a will. I thought my sister, who lived close to them, and looked out for them, took the proper steps when they died, but she didn't, and their property is still listed in both their names. I also have a brother. We have kept the taxes paid since my mother died. Now I am back in the area and would like to have the property. I want to buy their shares, have been to the tax office, explained the situation, and they advised me to see a lawyer. I talked to one on the phone, but he wasn't much help, and did not seem to think I needed to see him. He said to go to the County Clerk, and she would help me with the paper work. I would like to know what I am getting into. At this late date, will I have to have myself declared executor, and will it be a year before we can do anything? What about inheritence tax? Also, I am not sure my siblings will be willing to let me buy them out. I always thought I could force a sale on the property, and if they couldn't buy me out, I could then buy their shares. The lawyer said I couldn't do that. I had the property appraised, and am waiting on the appraisal, then will to go to them and make them an offer based on the appraisal price. Could anyone advise me how to go about this and what I am getting myself into? I live in WV. Thanks. |
| Anonymous | Monday, March 27, 2000 - 06:15 am
When a person dies without a will, his property is divided according to laws set by the state the person lived in. Usually, there is a % going to the surviving spouse, and the remaining % divided equally between all living children. If I read your post correctly, what has probably happened since both parents died is that each sibling has an equal share. This also means that if any one of the siblings is sued, get a judgement, etc, their "share" of the property is in jeopardy.
The only option at this point is either "divide" up the physical property via survey, get property lines established, etc. so each of you has their own "piece", or come to an agreement and one person buy the other two out, or just sell it outright and split the proceeds 3 ways. |
