5 years ago I bought a home with my mom. She only lived in it for 1 year then my sister put her in an assisted living facility. My sister has power of attorney and is on all her financial accounts. My sister has helped herself to some of my mom's money. Now my mom is out of money. First I offered to buy my mom out. Everyone agreed on the amount-then my sister changed her mind. Now I plan on getting married and offered to sell the home. My sister got mad because I shared some nasty emails she sent to me. Now she says I need to deal with mom and she is dropping her off next month to live with me -since it is her home. I work full time and I have a roommate. What rights do I have?
Thanks for sharing this info. NYDaughterInLaw also mentioned that forced selling is perfectly legal in Florida.
Sounds very sensible and practical in certain situations.
I wish Louisiana would have had this law of forced selling when my parents wanted to buy the lot next door.
When my father inquired about buying it, he found out that it belonged to more than one person and they couldn’t locate all of the owners.
One of the owners was willing to sell but couldn’t sell the property without having permission from the other one.
Several people wanted to buy that property but the title was never cleared to sell which is a shame, it is in a prime location. I drive by it occasionally and it still sits vacant without a house built on it.
Location does make a difference. State laws will determine what is legal for that area.
As you said, she should sell it and move forward in her life.
It is Mom's H-O-M-E.
No one can sell it from U-N-D-E-R her.
Not even her D-A-U-G-H-T-E-R.
Not even with a P-A-R-T-I-T-I-O-N.
It clearly states in the OP post that the sister plans on placing mom back into her "home".
Florida’s statute on this http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0000-0099/0064/0064.html
I think I will have a coffee break with her and chit chat on this very subject. Would love a deeper conversation with her.
How STUPID does/would it sound for a judge to tell a vulnerable person they "don't have any rights" to move back into their own home?
Another thing you may not understand is if the Mother is dropped off at this place, the Sister who is co owner can FORCE THE SALE of the entire property, take her half of the money, and waltz on off, leaving Mom sitting with her half of the funds.
Laws vary by State. It is great to have an opinion, but I would take care in holding one's self out as an expert on real estate or anything else.
And Judges do not change the law on the basis of vulnerability. They rule by the LAW as it is written.
I do believe I see another "Can my Mom have a glass of wine" thread coming, with us arguing it endlessly. I would say OP should call a realtor and ask about forcing sale of this property under the law. Take her half and let Mom and Sis have the remaining half of the money. Their argument will likely otherwise be as unending as our own.
However, I am not speaking of moving a "tenant" out of a rental.
I'm speaking of "selling a home out from under a mom" leaving her homeless.
Hailey, it doesn't matter what you believe to be moral in this situation. It matters what the law is. If two unmarried people own a home together EITHER of them can force a sale at any time and for any reason, even if they don't care for the color the other dyed his or her care. That is simple law. The law doesn't look at age, race, creed, color, mobility or anything else.
And no, of course no one is "name calling", unless you mean addressing by name, which certainly is not a problem.
I can't know the reason this home was bought originally by a mother and a daughter together. There are more than a few reasons this isn't a great thing to do. But one of them is the fact that at any time, for any reason, one or the other can force the sale of the home.
Very well said! Thanks for being a voice of reason.
Ultimately, it all falls on the POA. She accepted the position of being POA, therefore she needs to carry out her responsibilities, instead of trying to dump it in her sister’s lap! I wholeheartedly agree with you that she can house her drunk mom, since she is the POA!
Her sister lived with her for a year and knows better than to go through that again! I’m with her, I would force the sale rather than live with ‘Mommie Dearest’ again!
Fortunately, it appears that her sister isn’t falling prey to her intimidation. She is smart to want to sell the home, get married and move forward in her life. She is not objecting to giving her mom her fair share of the sale of their house.
Sigh.
Thank you so much for this good advice. Such a great reminder for myself.
Again, thank you for good advice.
I live in FL too, and also own property with my mother. The difference is that is where she lives, and I live in a separate place next door.
I'm only chiming in because I wanted to clarify for you that you can sell the property, and so can your mom. The best thing would be for you to use a local real estate agent with zero bias and get the townhome listed ASAP. Hopefully it sells fast, and then divide any profit in half with your mom. Hopefully the money will enable her to stay in the ALF where she needs to be. When that runs out your sister can get her on Medicaid. I hope you can talk to your roommate and they agree to move. This seems like the plan you wanted? Well, you can do it. You don't need your sisters approval.
If for whatever reason your sister does not agree to the terms of the sale as POA (and your mother is not competent to sign), or whatever, and an action for partition with the court is needed, that will be more costly due to attorney fees, and you will likely make less money on the sale because IF the court orders the sale it goes to auction. Those tend to be sold under FMV.
Hope that helps, and I also hope you come back and update us. Good luck.