[Hamka]

My mother died in April of 2008, leaving her house to her four children. I lived there continuously with her since 1988 and have continued to occupy the house since her death. One sister who owns a house in the suburbs but who has been using both addresses more or less lived in the house as a caretaker for the past 11/2-2 years of my mother's life.
Over the past several months, a second sister has been calling daily applying increasing pressure to sell the house and divide the funds. The live-in sister (who is still occupying the back end of the house most of the time under the pretext that she is painting and cleaning the house in preparation for sale) has now begun siding with this sister, demanding that I either "cooperate" in immediately listing the house or else take out a mortgage in order to buy out the three siblings. (The second sister had earlier stated that she did not care if I wanted to stay here a while longer, provided that I paid the forthcoming taxes on the house; now she is mentioning the phrase "probate court" and teaching the others to say it.) A third "recovering alcoholic" sister who manages the women's dorm of a homeless shelter in a neighboring town has been ominously silent, although the live-in sister is now threatening me with the prospect of her moving in. (The live-in sister dumped the alcoholic one here in 1997; she stayed here until mid-1998threatening me while my mother told me that she had as much right to be here as I did. Both siblings agreed. The local police told me that if I didn't like what was going on there, I should move.)
Although I do not want to stay in the house for an extended period (it is run-down, in a bad area of town, worth perhaps $30K), I have placed myself in a situation where I cannot afford immediately to move. (I am a far-too-old graduate student living on a stipend; I could probably borrow Stafford funds in the summer or fall. I most likely could not rent anything because I have four cats.) Having failed to prepare myself for this day, I have thus (as too frequently in the past) provided my siblings with an opportunity to play games of dominance and retaliation. I would pay these women a reasonable amount of rent in order to stay in the house for a while longer; this has not been offered, however. (As the non-removable sibling sleeping in the back room all day while her two dogs smear dog food all over the floor would say, "That is so [expletive] off the [expletive] table!") If I could obtain a mortgage (which I can't), it would be madness to buy a house in this part of town.
Having established that my query actually belongs in a psychological or "dysfunctional family" forum (or on Dr. Phil, or on Jerry Springer), I nevertheless move on to the legal questions: Do I as a longtime resident of the house have any legal recourse against the three others' efforts to force me out of the house? Is there any legal means by which I could buy time (perhaps six months) before this went to probate court, or could force the three to accept the payment of rent as temporary compensation? Does the four-way co-ownership indeed mean that the three others (as they enjoy point out) are able to enter and to occupy the house at any time, for as long as they like, against my will? Thanks for any non-condemnatory replies.

[ebaines]

Your story is not all that unusual - this is the problem when a parent dies and wills the house to all siblings. If she had been smarter she should have stipulated that upon her death the house be sold and proceeds split among the siblings. But it is what it is.

Since you are all equal owners you all have the right to use the house. So no, they can not force you out. But they can all move in if they like, and make your life miserable. You can not exclude them - if you try, they may be able to bring a cause of action for your ouster. The best solution would be for you to buy them out, or perhaps join with the sister who is living there for the two of you to buy out the other two. But if you can't afford that, then the next best thing is for you to pay rent to the others. If they don't agree to that, you're stuck! At that point I would advise selling out.

How is the house titled - are you joint tenants, tenants in common, tenants by the enirety, or what? This has an impact on what you and they can legally do.

[Hamka]

Thanks very much for your reply. Having posted all this, I was somewhat embarrassed to come back here.
I actually don't know how the house is titled. The sister who stays here much of the time (she owns/lives in a house in a neighboring town) dealt with the lawyer concerning the will (thus the owners are listed as "xxxx et al," if that helps in determining how the house is titled). Nor do I even know whether the will stipulates that the house is to be sold and the proceeds divided (I have completely abdicated adulthood in this matter, it seems). Certainly something worth finding out-- although the potential misery factor probably outweighs any advantage in remaining in the house. Thx again.

[excon]

Hello:

Two things to add to ebains great answer: Your mothers estate needs to be "probated", which is the court procedure wherein her property is officially transferred to her heirs. So, don't be worried about probate. You're going to get there.

Next is that they can't force you to sell or move either.

excon