Sister unwilling to pay home bills-what to do?

[avk2]

What is the name of your state? New York

Hi,
I have an estate issue that I would like some advice on,
that may become more urgent to resolve in the next month.

My parents owned a home in a borough of New York City, and
left their home to myself and 4 siblings
(1 has since deceased)
They gave my only/older sister the right to live there as her home for life,
with the stipulation that she was to maintain payments for taxes, utilities,
and keep the home in good repair (the latter point is arguable)-
in general, she has paid the bills for the home for over 10 years.

However...
As of late she is suffering from mental illness,
and is currently on medical leave from her job
(as of May 1)
She has roughly 2 1/2 months to sort things out
for herself
but in the meantime is threatening not to pay
any of the bills she is responsible for.
(The home's insurance is in force for about another month or so)

Another brother and myself are co-executors
but my brother lives far away from NYC,
and its pretty much left up to me
to monitor / handle the situation.

If my sister stops paying the bills, and doesnt
amicably/willingly move out, what are my options?

Can I evict her for refusing to pay for our home's upkeep?
By what method(s)?
Do I need a lawyer based in New York City,
or is a New York state based lawyer sufficient?

Thank you for your comments...

 

[xylene]

What is the name of your state? New York

They gave my only/older sister the right to live there as her home for life,
with the stipulation that she was to maintain payments for taxes, utilities,
and keep the home in good repair (the latter point is arguable)-
in general, she has paid the bills for the home for over 10 years.

How did they give her the home? Will? Trust? What kind of trust?

However...
As of late she is suffering from mental illness,
and is currently on medical leave from her job
(as of May 1)
She has roughly 2 1/2 months to sort things out
for herself
but in the meantime is threatening not to pay
any of the bills she is responsible for.
(The home's insurance is in force for about another month or so)

Has she ACTUALLY neglected payments?

Another brother and myself are co-executors
but my brother lives far away from NYC,
and its pretty much left up to me
to monitor / handle the situation.

You and your brother need to have a talk about his inaction and you need to clear that up to move forward.

If my sister stops paying the bills, and doesnt
amicably/willingly move out, what are my options?

You wisest course fo action is to consult a lawyer who can fully analyze the situation and details of your parents arrangement.

Can I evict her for refusing to pay for our home's upkeep?
By what method(s)?

IMHO your parents were very irresponsible to craft this convoluted arrangement. That should have had the house sold, given it outright to your sister, or allowed her to live there for a defined period (5 years say). "Lifetime with conditions..." Lets put it this way: you will need to go to court, probably more than once. You certainly aren't going to just go to landlord tenant court and get an eviction.

Do I need a lawyer based in New York City,
or is a New York state based lawyer sufficient?

Thank you for your comments...

Any lawyer admited to the NY Bar can practice statewide, including NYC.

However NYC has stricter landlord / tenant laws than Upstate, and you should be sure to select a lawyer who is very familiar with those laws. Being from NYC is no guarantee of that. You need to check.

 

[Dandy Don]

Also check with a family law attorney to see if it would be to your benefit or someone else's benefit to file for guardianship to manage her financial affairs and personal affairs if she would be unable to care for herself.

 

[avk2]

Xylene, DandyDon,
thank you for your comments.

Let me quote from my dad's will, where it stipulates:

I give and devise my house and real property known as...to my children...
subject to a life estate, the right of my daughter....and her family, if any,
to reside in said premises for her life. While my daughter has life use of said
premises she shall keep and maintain same in good repair and pay all costs
customarily incurred in connection with such maintenance and use
including repairs, taxes, utilities, water and sewer charges, and insurance.

then a clause about reimbursements for capital expenditures shes made
(maybe 15-20K for windows, roof)

So, I'm co-owner with my sister and 2 brothers.
House went through probate c. 1997, no issues.

Although my brother lives far away, he is of
like mind in that if my sister, for whatever
reason(s), cannot maintain
the property she should consider moving
to a more managable situation, i. e.
an apartment while she is still able to make decisions.
As co-executor he is not avoiding the issue, he will
readily sign off on anything he needs to.
What can he do in addition to what I
have/will do? Unless he wastes a trip
to NY just to yell at her...

I was able to salvage her employment/medical benefits
for her for the short term until August,
and if she continues on her downward spiral (not working, not
focused enough to complete any paperwork)
i believe that her mental deterioration may force
me to make some difficult decisions.
What I can do, or need to do, without taking ownership
of her/her problems, I dont know.

Ostensibly, anxiety medicine that she used for
20+ years now for several weeks
in her words is no longer effective
and she is exhibiting psychotic symptoms
from misuse/withdrawal
(hearing voices, paranoia,
seeing colors)

Drs diagnosis, not mine

Last week, she threw some oranges
at some strangers legally parked in front
of the house. If she throws a
rock today, or tomorrow and breaks
something valuable, or hurts someone,
someone will call 911 and instead
of getting medical help willfully she
land in a city hospital...furthermore
I am completely disinterested in the entire estate
being liable/sued for her personal actions.

She is paid up on her bills, for the moment,
only because I have completed some
payments for her through last week.

If I decline to assist her further,
i am supremely un-confident that
she will continue to pay bills
due this month and next

As for the wisdom of my parents decision,
I know it was an unusual clause,
but it was my parents wish to compensate my sister
in an even handed way for things they
did not provide her - they paid for others'
college, and helped finance cars,
gave loans to the others, etc.

More crucially, my sister had gone through some
serious personal crises and they wanted to
provide some stability for her.

This was for everyones benefit as no one
is interested in living with or supporting
my sister, including myself

That was their wish, in fact I was
given a chance to review & nullify it prior
to it being signed off on 14 years ago and I
was being completely altruistic.

Years later, I realize the arrangement was unfair to everyone
else - for example, one of my brothers had a
few years of financial hardship and the other now
has kids in college. My sister ended up realizing a benefit to her
that was far greater than what was given to the
others individually, and perhaps what she "deserved"
yet the house trebled in value since my parents' passing.
So its worth more now, if only on paper,
than 10,+ years ago and thats not a bad thing.

In retrospect, there may have been many
past issues i could have taken legal action
on previously- freeloading boyfriends
living there rent-free, a large pet
dog defecating all over the basement-
but i never could seem to make that big a deal
of it- she insisted she could do what she
wanted as long as paid the bills, even
if i said, these werent "family"

I have a special needs child and
assist my wife in caregiving to 3 other
members of my wife's family
so I need this new issue on my plate
like a hole in my head.
No she absolutely cannot live with me.
Yes I have tried to help & reason with her.
No she is unwilling to go through
the detox/psychiatric treatment
recommended to her
Yes I have done everything I could to
get her treatment but I cannot
force her to go through
treatment or make dr appointments on
her behalf unless she endangers
herself or others, and shes heading
there.

Restating my original question,
What kind of lawyer, as you suggest,
ideally located in New York City
do I need to contact
to assist me should my sister
be unwilling to pay the homes bills,work, etc
yet also decline to move out.

She may need to get SSI disability benefits
can that lawyer assist her with that too
or do I need to look for a social worker?
(in 10 months she will also be able
to draw her late husbands benefits)

Thanks again, avk2

 

[xylene]

I was misreading your brothers position - many time in complicated estates fatigue sets in and this can be standoff-ish. Not your case. You will need to make decsions with him, but this can be done over distance.

Your situation is very complex, and I would strongly advice you to seek out a reputable practice with expereince in family law and estates to secure your and your families common interests.

If your sister still has means, than she is not in violation of the clause, althought the wasteing issues you describe are serious flaws in that clause.

PS - this site is fully parsing (ie it will compose paragraphs properly) and their is no need to depress a hard return at the end of each line.

Good luck.

 

[anteater]

I was misreading your brothers position - many time in complicated estates fatigue sets in and this can be standoff-ish. Not your case. You will need to make decsions with him, but this can be done over distance.

Good luck.

Unless I am taking a bad implication from the OP's posts, the probate estate has been closed and the OP and siblings are now remaindermen, with one sibling having a life estate. The OP's and brother's positions as co-executors are now irrelevant

 

[avk2]

Unless I am taking a bad implication from the OP's posts, the probate estate has been closed and the OP and siblings are now remaindermen, with one sibling having a life estate. The OP's and brother's positions as co-executors are now irrelevant

This sounds correct in that I did wind up my dad's estate, bills, taxes, etc.
and everything went through probate A-OK, over 10 years ago.
However, my understanding was that me, as executor's responsibility does not
end until my parents estate is completely liquidated-in other words, I have
an explicit, legal responsibility over and above that my being a co-owner
that the home is being kept in decent shape,
all necessary expenses, taxes paid for, etc. -are you saying that have
to posit my complaints not from the role of executor but as
co-owner, as the "executor" function no longer applies?-no lawyer told me that
Also, this is not a problem currently, but what about the
concerns (which dont apply now)
about boyfriends living in the home who are not spouses,
or pets fouling the home
-the out-of-area brother was going to sue her over that
at one point as he didnt consider them "family" as stated in the will?
No they did not have a lease and did not pay rent.
I dont think its legal to sublet homes on that street, its
never been a rental property, but
if it were so, would my sister have to get the other owners consent,
share income, etc
I'm taking 2 tacks to address this simultaneously,
#1, which ive begun already, is to arrange
for my sister to receive whatever SS disabilty benefits
she is entitled to. In 10 months she will also
be able to receive much of her late husbands SS
(at age 60) so perhaps she can live on all that.
Maybe if she is terminated she can also
receive NY state unemployment? dont know
if she can if shes getting SS disability income.
Per my previous advice, my sister set up
a meeting with the local SS office
that she failed to show for, in late March/April
again because her mental state deteriorated
she said she didnt remember why she made the appointment
and why she wanted to go
-they have a record of her no-show and said that could
be used as partial evidence of incompetence.
SS said I could help her with this process, she will
have to submit to an exam from them to
ultimately receive benefits- I might
as well do it for her if shes going to need that
$ to live on sooner than later because she
wont do so without assistance.
Again I know this for certain because I just staved off her
termination from her inability to see and get a psychiatrist
to sign off on a medical LOA form.
Tack #2 is as has been suggested, thank you,
going back to the family lawyer who
drew up the will, or someone
similiar and getting some legal advice if things
get worse (actual nonpayment of bills etc)
One more idea is getting a Social Worker from a NYC
Social Services dept to help her.
The IMO really, really bad alternative is doing absolutely nothing, where my sister
gets the sack from her job and shes faced
with an increase from $40 / month when employed to
(maybe $1000? for COBRA) more expensive health insurance,
(unless a 59 yr old smoker w/ health problems is cheaper)
unless somehow she gets Medicare or Medicaid
she will run through much of her funds in a year or 2.
More stuff I dont know about but im sure will find out.
Besides the human aspect of ignoring the
plight of a family member,
and I say that is a plight when someone is about
to lose their income and job for not going to it but
not fully understanding why or how its happening
even after they explain it to you in writing
I dont see how I can ignore a house I co-own
going dark and cold from nonpayment
of bills, with attendant damage from frozen pipes,
tax liens, etc.

Regards,
avk2