Q. Our mother left my brother and I a house. He is living in the house on the East Coast. I live on the West Coast. He changed the locks, and I do not have access to the house. What can I do if he refuses to give me a key or let me into the house to inspect it? Heather G.

A. Was the property subject to probate? Is the title to the home now in the name of both you and your brother? Is your brother paying rent? Who is paying the real estate tax, insurance and maintenance cost? Do you have a partnership agreement? How you deal with this situation depends on the answers to the questions above and similar issues.

Assuming your mother divided the interests equally, you have equal rights with your brother. It appears there is no real cooperation. You may have to employ stronger measures by which to follow your mother’s wishes, and treat yourself fairly.

The potential options

The primary choices for dividing real estate interests as you have described in the property are quite simple:

One option is both parties agree one will purchase the other’s interest.

The second option is agree to sell the property and go separate ways.

A third option is to form a partnership that describes who will manage the property, what compensation the manager will receive, and how net income is shared between you.

These options are predicated on conversations between the two of you leading to an agreement that spells out a choice on which you can both agree. A fourth option is to do nothing and continue on as in the past.

Each of your circumstances will drive the ultimate choice of which agreement works best. Personal finances, physical location, lifestyle choices and more will go into negotiating an agreement both parties can accept.

A reasonable path

When you have determined which of the options work best for you, consider this approach:

Write to your brother (start a file about the history and exchanges with him) in a cordial yet business-like manner outlining the situation as you see it. Be careful to use only facts you are certain are correct and to be respectful. Do not threaten him or coerce him, but seek to understand. Suggest to him the solution above that you think makes the most sense and explain your reasoning. Tell him you would like a response by a certain date so you both can better plan for the future. Then wait for his reply.

If you receive a positive response, to the solution you placed in front of him, discuss what steps must be taken to put the plan into effect. It will be one of the three options outlined above.

If one is buying the other’s interest, it will be wise for each of you to order an appraisal and set guidelines about what will happen if the appraisers are more than a certain percentage apart.

If you both choose a partnership, there are many financial decisions in joint ownership that will keep the two of you in communication regularly. Some examples are maintenance issues, repair decisions, paying property expenses, determining market rent and more.

If you receive no response, or an unsatisfactory answer (“I’m not paying rent.”) then you have another decision to make. You can either live with the situation or you can escalate it.

If you escalate, consider communicating again with your brother about what is going to happen next, which may involve much of his time and money.

An intermediate step may be finding a mediator to help to resolve the conflict. Mediation can often bring resolution without a protracted and draining court battle. Many courts today will refer disputes to mediation as an interim step.

Even if one of you agreed to buy the other’s interest in the property, there would be a winner and a loser sometime in the future. When the home sells for a gain, the survivor is the winner. When it sells for a loss, the withdrawn sibling is the winner.

You came in together, go out together

Agreeing to sell the home now, together, may be the best solution, even though it may be a solution neither of you wants.

Knowing the answers to the questions posed above may allow the two of you to come to an amicable conclusion.


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