Subdividing Real estate to settle an estate

[Justwanttoknow]

What is the name of your state? Illinois. My uncle who died recently bought land jointly with his good friend. They both secured loans and built houses on the land. The problem now is that my uncle built a house which was (3) times the size of his friend's as well as a large machine shed. My mother (the heir to the estate) is being told that the property must be split 50/50 and I dont think that would be fair. Does joint ownership of the land automatically mean joint ownership of the improvements ? Thank you for your help with this questionWhat is the name of your state?

 

[BelizeBreeze]

What is the name of your state? Illinois. My uncle who died recently bought land jointly with his good friend. They both secured loans and built houses on the land. The problem now is that my uncle built a house which was (3) times the size of his friend's as well as a large machine shed. My mother (the heir to the estate) is being told that the property must be split 50/50 and I dont think that would be fair. Does joint ownership of the land automatically mean joint ownership of the improvements ? Thank you for your help with this questionWhat is the name of your state?

If the land is not held Jtrows then your aunt has two options:

1. buy out the other owner for the portion of land necessary to keep the buildings intact, or;

2. file partition.

 

[lwpat]

You need to look into the paperwork. I fail to see how they could each take out a loan on their own house if the property is jointly held. You need to find out exactly what has been recorded and take copies to a real estate attorney along with a copy of the will.

 

[Justwanttoknow]

My uncle and his friend both co-signed for each others loan and the Bank does not differentiate what property is associated with each loan. The Bank wants both loans paid off before they will release the lien on the property though. I have reason to believe that this friend never even paid for the land, or a shared well that was providing the water for both houses. Now he is expecting half of the proceeds from the sale of the machine shed ($40,000) and he expects my uncle's estate to pay half of the expense to put in another well so that the property can be divided. How would something like this be resolved ? Would the legal fees eat up the potential gain ?

 

[Dick_Cheney]

split land

I am not a lawyer but I play someone that drinks beer and shoots them in the face with shotguns on t.v.
They bought property together. Did they build the buildings together? Were all the materials and labor paid by your uncle?
It sounds to me the property must be divided. The land is 50/50 but the buildings are personal property. Try and split the land.