Hard-headed Siblings

In March 2000, my father-in-law passed away, leaving a home and 10+ acres of land to his three children...my husband, a daughter, and another son. This property was to be divided equally between the three siblings. In September 2000, it was agreed that one sibling's son could rent the home for $300 per month($100 to each sibling), with the rents paid to be applied towards purchase of the house in 5 years. However, when the Lease-To-Own contract was drawn up, my husband realized there was a clause in the contract that he had not agreed to, therefore he refused to sign it. At that point,on the advice of his father, my husband's brother, the nephew quit paying rent to my husband (he had paid 2 months so far). During a recent phone call with his sister (who is also executrix of the estate), my husband learned that she and his brother told the nephew he didn't have to pay rent to them, and they feel it is perfectly okay that the nephew is not paying my husband his share of the rent since my husband wouldn't sign the contract with the disputed clause. The sister (executrix) also refuses to have the land surveyed and divided, leaving my husband tenant in common with his sister and brother. The brother has opened a dog breeding business on a large portion of the land, and did this without asking my husband whether he would object to such a business. My questions are these: 1) Since my husband is legally entitled to collect rent on his 1/3 share in the home, can he sue in Small Claims for back rent owed, then have a rental contract drawn up between himself and the nephew? What if the nephew refuses to sign such a contract? We are aware that he cannot be evicted without agreement between all three co-owners, so what can my husband do to collect the money he is owed, and ensure that he will continue receiving that rent? 2) Since the executrix refuses to have the land divided, short of having to hire a lawyer to sue in court for partition of property(which we can't afford financially), what are my husbands avenues of recourse? 3) If my husband has to continue in joint ownership of the property, is he allowed to build
on/use the property as he sees fit, ie. could he place a mobile home on the property for rental purposes? 3) My sister-in-law has said that if my brother-in-law does not get his way, he may try to kill me and my husband. What can we do about threats such as these? I would appreciate a response as quickly as possible. The stress of this is really hurting my husband's health. We reside in North Carolina.

Too long and too many questions.

You really should get a prepaid legal insurance plan -- see side button -- to have a lawyer on call.

FEB. 12, 2001

DEAR REALLYSTEAMED:

(1) Specifically what is in the contract that your husband didn't agree with? If you can't get the wording changed to come to an agreement, then ask the executrix if she would be willing to buy out your husband's share of the property or sell the whole property and then split the money. (But she probably doesn't want to do either of these if she wants to hold on to the house and land.) Having the property co-owned by 3 people was not a wise decision, since you can't ever get 3 people to agree on anything.


(2) If there is nothing in the contract now about penalties for non-payment of rent, then such a clause needs to be added. And get the payment terms revised so that the $300 is paid to the executrix or to a neutral third party (such as a bank) who would then distribute it to the 3 parties.


(3) Small claims court is an excellent idea to try to recover the unpaid monies.


(4) Does the brother's dog breeding business have a name and is it officially registered as a business at the Secretary of State's office? Do the local zoning rules allow for a business to be operated on that property? If he is operating a business without a permit or in violation of zoning rules, you might want to report this so it can be shut down by the authorities.


(5) If you can remember the date and time your sister-in-law made the comment about what would possibly happen in your brother-in-law doesn't get his way, you need to report this intimidation to the local police dept. by phone or by mail, so there will be an official record of it, and get an answering machine to record any future messages you might receive.

If I were you, I would try to find a way to get out of this property, as it is not worth the headaches and stress to your health.

SINCERELY,

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