[casio]

I and my to two siblings inherited our mother property as jtwros off a lady bird deed done in 2009.. two of us want to sell the property and close this issue.. been to one lawyer and said we can't force a sale of the property.

Is there any way we can dissolve the jtwros and then sale the property.

J

[AK lawyer]

What's a "lady bird deed"?

It depends upon the law of the state or country in which the property is located, but in general an action for partition can be filed in any state. What is the reason the attorney gave for saying it can't be done?

Also, in most states, I believe a deed from two of the joint tenants to create a tenancy in common will "break" the JTWROS.

"... Breaking a joint tenancy

If any joint co-owner deals in any way with a property inconsistent with a joint tenancy, that co-owner will be treated as having terminated (sometimes called "breaking") the joint tenancy. The remaining co-owners maintain joint ownership of the remaining interest. The dealing may be a conveyance or sale of the co-owner's share in the property. The position in relation to a mortgage is more doubtful (see below). For example, if one of three joint co-owners conveys his or her share in the property to a third party, the third party owns a 1/3 share on a tenancy in common basis, while the other two original joint co-owners continue to hold the remaining 2/3s on a joint tenancy basis. This result arises because the "unity of time" is broken: that is, because on the transfer the timing of the new interest is different from the original one. If it is desired to continue to maintain a joint tenancy, then the three original joint co-owners would need to transfer, in the one instrument, the joint interest to the two remaining joint co-owners and the new joint co-owner.
A joint co-owner may break a joint tenancy and maintain an interest in the property. Most jurisdictions permit a joint owner to break a joint tenancy by the execution of a document to that effect. In those jurisdiction which retain the old common law requirements, an actual exchange with a straw man is required. This requires another person to "buy" the property from the joint co-owner for some nominal consideration, followed immediately by a sale-back to the co-owner at the same price. In either case, the joint tenancy will revert to a tenancy in common as to that owner's interest in the property. ..." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concurrent_estate


I suggest you talk to another attorney.

[ScottGem]

A lady bird deed is apparently similar to a life estate. Lady Bird Deed Law & Legal Definition

I'm assuming that your mother is now deceased. If so, the fact that this was done via a "lady bird" deed is immaterial. So I agree with AK, a partition suit should be allowed (though possibly no if mom is still alive). So I would like to know why the attorney said you couldn't force a sale and suggest speaking to another attorney.

[AK lawyer]

I'm assuming that your mother is now deceased. If so, ...

OP wrote that he or she, and siblings "inherited our mother (sic) property". I don't see any ambiguity. It seems clear that the mother is dead.

But I suppose it is possible that, while OP wrote "inherited", (s)he meant that the mother conveyed the property as a will-substitute, but has not yet died. In such case, the siblings don't yet have a present ownership interest; and thus division of the remainder-interest might (perhaps) be problematical.

[ScottGem]

Yes, that's why I assumed it. But the only reason I could come up with that it couldn't be sold is if she was still living there. So I wanted to deal with that possibility.

[AK lawyer]

If it is indeed a life estate/ remainder situation, and she is still alive, I don't see why her children still couldn't sue each other for partition now or, as I previously noted some of them could "break" the JTWROS (in the remainder) by execution of an appropriate deed. I guess we need to wait for OP to give us some more information.

[casio]

Yes my mother had passed before us finding out about these JTWROS deed. The present attorney is not wanting to represent this legal fight. We (2 of us) would like to meet a good real estate attorney in the Detroit area to further discuss any way to dissolve this jtwros deed and sale this property.