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Can I move into a house I inherited with someone else?
Question:
My stepfather wanted me to inherit his house but passed away a year ago before redoing his will. His previous will left the house to me and his brother, who lives in another state. The house is empty, the taxes haven’t been paid, and the utilities have been cut off. (The mortgage was paid off a long time ago.) My stepfather’s brother says that I can’t live in the house. But I can’t afford to buy out his half. Why can’t my wife and I move in and pay the back taxes, get the utilities back on, and take care of the property until it's sold and we split the money between the two of us?
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First, because your stepfather didn’t get around to revising his will, you’re stuck with the one he had, leaving the house to you and his brother—there’s nothing you can do about that.
If there was a probate proceeding for your stepfather’s estate, and title to the house was transferred to you and his brother, you have certain rights as a co-owner of the property. First of all, you have the right to live in the property. Your stepfather’s brother has the same right. And you both have a responsibility to pay for necessary expenses such as taxes and maintenance. Finally, you have the right to force a sale of the property by bringing what’s known as a “partition” action in local court.
If the title was never officially transferred out of your stepfather’s name, you need to get a probate proceeding started as soon as possible. If the will named you as executor, you will have control over the process. But even if the will didn’t name you, you can still ask the court to appoint you as executor; if there’s been no probate, whoever the will named isn’t living up to his or her responsibilities.