Inherited property, one non-compliant sibling/ rcvd summons to defend civil action

[G33kyG1rl]

Hello everyone, I'm in Tennessee, and I'm in desperate need of advice. I'll try to make this as clear as I can.

Three siblings, our mother passed away this past October in the middle of selling her house. Already had a buyer, already signed and everything, just before she died. The home is here in Tennessee where my brother and I live. Our sister lives in Florida, and she has been non-compliant with everything we've asked of her. She won't even tell us her home address. She refuses now to sign paperwork to sell mom's house. It's just sitting there racking up taxes and dues. My brother and I had tried to discuss everything we could possibly think of to get her to sign the papers, and I was 100% compliant, signing papers the realtor asked me to to extend the sale because the buyer had agreed to wait for us. Is STILL waiting for us. My brother and I don't usually get along, so the fact that we were working together was mind- boggling to me. He went quiet for about a week, then he texts me and says "I have to sue you to make this work, don't freak out"...which I don't understand, and whenever I ask questions, he just starts yelling at me and it feels like something isn't right to me. The thing I don't understand...why sue the compliant sibling as well for something a non-compliant sibling has done? The summons says I have 30 days to file a defense with the clerk of court, and also forward a copy to his attorney. (Papers were filed 2/11/16, I received them 2/17/16). Here's my problem. I don't know how to do that!! I can't afford an attorney to help me. Legal Aid said they couldn't take my type of case, and there are definitely points I feel I should defend myself on. For one, I haven't done anything wrong, and for two, why is he asking his attorney fees to come out of everyone's money? I've signed my papers, so has he...can the attorney fees not just come out of HER money? Can anyone point me in the right direction as to what I need to be doing right now, before it's too late, and I lose my right to defend myself?

Thanks in advance!!

 

[eerelations]

What exactly is he suing you for?

 

[G33kyG1rl]

What exactly is he suing you for?

That's the thing, it doesn't say. Says that he wants the house sold, it names my sister and says she hasn't signed the papers to sell the house. Says NOTHING in them about me and what I have or have not done, other than mentioning we share ownership in the property. I wonder why any of it says him vs. she and I. Why was I even involved, and if I had to be, why wasn't it he and I vs. her? All the paperwork says is, he wishes to sell the house (obviously, so do I!), and at this time they want us to respond with our defenses. I just don't understand why I'm being sued, is my whole thing. I've been just as compliant as he has. I'm guessing what will happen now is, my sister and I both send in our defenses, (or I do and she doesn't, because it seems as of late she ignores everything), the judge looks it over and either makes a decision based on that, or sets a court date. If there is a court date, she for sure won't show up.

I'm just making a stab in the dark here as to what I think will happen. I don't have the first frickin' clue. I'd love it if someone who does know could reassure me. Also, the most pressing factor here being, the defense I have to write for myself, and give to the clerk of court, then forward to his attorney. I don't know what to write, or how to do any of this, so some guidance here would be helpful. Obviously if I could afford an attorney to handle this for me I wouldn't be here. I'm just a former IT professional that was stricken with a chronic illness three years back and hasn't been able to get back to work since, meanwhile my brother makes a lot of money so he calls all the shots without consulting me, obviously. I just got sued and I didn't do anything wrong. I really think it should've been he and I suing her, but if it made him look better at all, obviously that is the road he would have chosen, and I'm thinking that's what happened here.