Evil Aunt Getting Ready to Move In For The Kill

[ColoradoGJ]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Colorado

Okay, first of all thank God for the Internet and this community. Hopefully I can get some ideas. I'll try to be as clear as possible and give you the Reader's Digest Version.

My Grandmother died in Grand Junction, Colorado in September of 2008. Before she died she purchased two houses with cash. On both houses she had Beneficiary Deeds drawn up. On those deeds she placed my three Aunts and a Cousin on them. That made two properties that each had 4 cotenants. When my Grandmother died they became tenants in common. Three of the them reside in Grand Junction. The fourth, who will hereafter be referred to as the "Evil Aunt,' lives in Florida.

My Grandmother had specifically wanted to make sure that my two aunts here in Grand Junction and my cousin here in Grand Junction would have a house to live in for the rest of their lives with no mortgage to pay. The Evil Aunt from Florida was placed on the deeds as an afterthought. The Evil Aunt in Florida is also very wealthy. The two Aunt's and Cousin in Colorado are very poor.

To make a long story short, the Evil Aunt from Florida is using her ability to afford lawyers to try to force the house to public auction by having the court order a partition by sale in order to monetize her shares of each property. My Aunts and my Cousin are devastated and feel as though they have no chance. My fear is that my Evil Aunt is going to force the properties to public auction, then have her lawyer bid on the properties and steal the properties out from under my other two Aunts and my Cousin. She is valuing her shares on the basis of what my Grandmother paid for the houses when she purchased them, not what they are worth now that the market has tumbled.

My Questions are

1) What is the best way for them to protect themselves?

2) Will a judge order the sale even if it will result in substantial monetary damage to my Aunts and my Cousin?

3) If it goes to suit will the Court allow my Aunt's to try to pay my Evil Aunt her shares of the two houses.

4) Is there a way short of going to suit that my Aunts can get the Evil Aunt to accept what they are worth at current market value, and, if not, will the Court consider the fact that my aunts are willing to try to pay fair market value for the shares of each house they just need time to come up with the money, and that the Evil Aunt is being quite unreasonable about the pricing,

5) If it goes to Court will the court give them time to come up with the money or do they just automatically order a public auction?

6) Will the fact that the Evil Aunt is only 25% owner and outnumbered by the other three have any impact on the Courts view of the matter, i.e. will her interest in the property be great enough for the Court to consider forcing my Aunts and Cousin out.

I should add that the Evil Aunt has never resided on either properties and my two Aunts are elderly and have serious medical problems, will the Court consider the fact that my Evil Aunt is wealthy and my other two Aunts are elderly, extremely poor, and ill (one has MS and the other is a severe diabetic and morbidly obese). My Grandmothers would be rolling over in her grave if she knew what her daughter was doing. This whole thing is tearing the family apart.

Thanks for whatever feed back you can offer.What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?

 

[BlondiePB]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Colorado

Okay, first of all thank God for the Internet and this community. Hopefully I can get some ideas. I'll try to be as clear as possible and give you the Reader's Digest Version.

My Grandmother died in Grand Junction, Colorado in September of 2008. Before she died she purchased two houses with cash. On both houses she had Beneficiary Deeds drawn up. On those deeds she placed my three Aunts and a Cousin on them. That made two properties that each had 4 cotenants. When my Grandmother died they became tenants in common. Three of the them reside in Grand Junction. The fourth, who will hereafter be referred to as the "Evil Aunt,' lives in Florida.

My Grandmother had specifically wanted to make sure that my two aunts here in Grand Junction and my cousin here in Grand Junction would have a house to live in for the rest of their lives with no mortgage to pay. The Evil Aunt from Florida was placed on the deeds as an afterthought. The Evil Aunt in Florida is also very wealthy. The two Aunt's and Cousin in Colorado are very poor.

To make a long story short, the Evil Aunt from Florida is using her ability to afford lawyers to try to force the house to public auction by having the court order a partition by sale in order to monetize her shares of each property. My Aunts and my Cousin are devastated and feel as though they have no chance. My fear is that my Evil Aunt is going to force the properties to public auction, then have her lawyer bid on the properties and steal the properties out from under my other two Aunts and my Cousin. She is valuing her shares on the basis of what my Grandmother paid for the houses when she purchased them, not what they are worth now that the market has tumbled.

My Questions are

1) What is the best way for them to protect themselves?

2) Will a judge order the sale even if it will result in substantial monetary damage to my Aunts and my Cousin?

3) If it goes to suit will the Court allow my Aunt's to try to pay my Evil Aunt her shares of the two houses.

4) Is there a way short of going to suit that my Aunts can get the Evil Aunt to accept what they are worth at current market value, and, if not, will the Court consider the fact that my aunts are willing to try to pay fair market value for the shares of each house they just need time to come up with the money, and that the Evil Aunt is being quite unreasonable about the pricing,

5) If it goes to Court will the court give them time to come up with the money or do they just automatically order a public auction?

6) Will the fact that the Evil Aunt is only 25% owner and outnumbered by the other three have any impact on the Courts view of the matter, i.e. will her interest in the property be great enough for the Court to consider forcing my Aunts and Cousin out.

I should add that the Evil Aunt has never resided on either properties and my two Aunts are elderly and have serious medical problems, will the Court consider the fact that my Evil Aunt is wealthy and my other two Aunts are elderly, extremely poor, and ill (one has MS and the other is a severe diabetic and morbidly obese). My Grandmothers would be rolling over in her grave if she knew what her daughter was doing. This whole thing is tearing the family apart.

Thanks for whatever feed back you can offer.What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?

The only relevance is the fact the Auntie dearest is a tenant in common who has the right to force sale via a partition suit. This is probably not what you want to hear, but it is so.

 

[ColoradoGJ]

I knew that she had an absolute right

But I was wondering if the court would consider any extenuating circumstances due to the fact that Partition suits are actions in equity (at least in some states), which I presume means the judge is vested with some type of authority to do what is equitable.

In other words is there any chance that the Court could find that the action that my Evil Aunt is seeking is malicious (or brought in bad faith), or causes more harm than good. There is a chance that if this is fought in Court that the Evil Aunt could end up with next to nothing after lawyers fees, court costs, etc. My Aunts had actually asked her to sell them her 25 percent share of each of the properties and in both cases my Evil Aunt said she would think about it, then never answered them. The next thing we knew they had letters from her attorney threatening partition.

Do they just order the public auction pro forma or do they weigh any of the facts of the case, or allow for consideration of any other less harmful remedies before the issue the order?

I think she is not acting in good faith and is just trying to cause harm to my elderly and sick Aunts.

 

[Kiawah]

The aunt isn't evil because she wants her 1/4th monetary equivalent.

Sell the houses to give her the 1/4, and she'll be happy..... or... find another way to give her the same 1/4 equivalent.

The grandmother didn't leave enough money or homes to allow the 3 local GRapids folks each a home to live mortgage free....unless of course they all were to live in one of the homes, and sell the other one to get the cash to pay 1/4 of the total value of the homes to the florida aunt.

 

[ColoradoGJ]

Actually it was my Grandmother's express desire

That the two Aunts and my cousin would live all together in one of the houses and that the Evil Aunt would be able to come live with them if anything ever happened to her husband, who has serious heart problems. My Grandmother's only mistake was that she didn't put it in writing (only because she never dreamed the the Aunt from Florida would turn on her sisters).

The whole point is that the Aunt from Florida doesn't need the money (not by a long shot) and is trying to force a distressed sale. If she wasn't evil why wouldn't she just negotiate in good faith? The other Aunts have already asked about buying her out, she didn't even have the decency to answer them. This is how to treat family? Public auction doesn't benefit any of the cotenants, and if it goes to suit the only ones that it benefits are the lawyers, as far as I can see.



PS how long does it take to force a partition, and can it be fought or delayed? Should they file something against her, since from what I understand the Plaintiffs get reimbursed for part of the attorney fees and the defendants have to bear the cost of the attorney fees alone?

I'm just trying to help two elderly Aunts formulate some kind of strategy, but if I am understanding the feedback here correctly they are up the creek without a paddle.

 

[nextwife]

If they want to keep the home, they should pay her 1/4 of the Fair market value. Surely 1/3rd of 25% can't be that large of an amount - have they looked into getting a mortgage?

 

[ColoradoGJ]

They are interested in doing that

Which is why I am asking how long they have, or if there is any way to buy them a little time to get this done. The Attorney's letter gave them 2 weeks to respond and I don't know how much time this gives them to get something like that accomplished. Does anyone here have any idea how rapidly these type of actions progress, or if they have any rights at all?

I have been trying to get a idea of the nuances or mechanics of something like this and so far it doesn't seem like anyone has been able to give a substantive or instructive answer.

 

[tranquility]

If you don't deal fairly with "evil aunt", you are the ones being inequitable. Even if you have a very sad story as to why. She has a right to her property. The partition suit will be successful and aunt will get her share of the proceedes. This will increase the longer the others stay at the property as the inequity increases as some owners use the property while others do not.

The suit could take years unless the issues are not that complex. If there are not factual issues to resolve, the other side will make an offer early and you will need to accept it or, if the other side wins to a level greater than the offer, pay for their legal costs. So, no one can predict how long it will take. Months or years though.

 

[ColoradoGJ]

Thank you for the more in depth reply

I do think offering to buy out the Evil Aunt's shares, and then having her not even reply (to her own family), hardly qualifies as treating her unfairly and refusing to deal with her equitably. I thought I posted at least twice that the two Aunts and Cousin want to buy her out for FMV. They are just scared and can't afford to get into a legal pissing match. Perhaps I didn't make it clear enough. However, I do appreciate you taking the time to go into a little more detail.

It is much more helpful than one sentence replies that don't even address the questions asked.

 

[HomeGuru]

I do think offering to buy out the Evil Aunt's shares, and then having her not even reply (to her own family), hardly qualifies as treating her unfairly and refusing to deal with her equitably. I thought I posted at least twice that the two Aunts and Cousin want to buy her out for FMV. They are just scared and can't afford to get into a legal pissing match. Perhaps I didn't make it clear enough. However, I do appreciate you taking the time to go into a little more detail.

It is much more helpful than one sentence replies that don't even address the questions asked.

**A: judging from your last sentence, it appears that you are unhappy with some of the responses.

 

[nextwife]

I do think offering to buy out the Evil Aunt's shares, and then having her not even reply (to her own family), hardly qualifies as treating her unfairly and refusing to deal with her equitably. I thought I posted at least twice that the two Aunts and Cousin want to buy her out for FMV. They are just scared and can't afford to get into a legal pissing match. Perhaps I didn't make it clear enough. However, I do appreciate you taking the time to go into a little more detail.

It is much more helpful than one sentence replies that don't even address the questions asked.

So, did they actually submit written offers to Auntie? In writing?

 

[BlondiePB]

**A: judging from your last sentence, it appears that you are unhappy with some of the responses.

Wow, another one sentence reply.

Perhaps he should request a refund. Typing with barnacle cuts on fingertips is painful.

 

[BlondiePB]

So, did they actually submit written offers to Auntie? In writing?

And, did they submit the written offers within the 10 day deadline to respond?

 

[HomeGuru]

Wow, another one sentence reply.

Perhaps he should request a refund. Typing with barnacle cuts on fingertips is painful.

**A: yes, and maybe request the double your money back guaranty.

 

[ColoradoGJ]

Fascinating

Even your snark is kept to one sentence.

Why bother replying if you really don't have anything to say?

Yes I know it's a free forum. But why bother if you aren't going to even try to answer the questions. You all give attorneys a bad reputation. I should post a link to the other forum that I posted in, where they give "real" answers, but I wouldn't want you going over there to take a dump in that thread. I guess all that really matters to you is that you sit around in your little circle jerk and amuse each other. It's always nice to get a chuckle at someone elses expense eh?

Toodles

PS thanks for nothing. I can now certainly recommend where people NOT find a Real Estate Attorney. Thanks for that