Can my Mom sell

[Dean Powell]

i'm in calif. So my mom and step father purchased the home I grew up in. Step dad died in 2012. The house is to be split 4 ways when mom passes. The house is becoming to much for mom. Can she sell the house?

I think at the time she just signed it and doesn't really know other than my step fathers daughter was included in the 4 way split. Years later my mom doesn't want his daughter getting anything as my mom paid for 3/4 on the home. The daughter has never liked my mom, was not part of the family as she was much older and had her own life, has proven to be a gold digger as she married two old men who died and she got everything and we believe she planned this marrying these old men. she is pissed because my step fathers pension, when he died he made it so it was split between my mom, his daughter, and his son, leaving out my brother and I. She thought that the wife should get all the pension.

 

[Ohiogal]

i'm in calif. So my mom and step father purchased the home I grew up in. Step dad died in 2012. The house is to be split 4 ways when mom passes. The house is becoming to much for mom. Can she sell the house?

Yes your mom can sell as long as she is the only one on the deed. Split 4 ways when she dies? Is that in a will?

 

[LdiJ]

i'm in calif. So my mom and step father purchased the home I grew up in. Step dad died in 2012. The house is to be split 4 ways when mom passes. The house is becoming to much for mom. Can she sell the house?

How is the home titled? Is it in a trust? Does she have a life estate with the 4 people as remaindermen? It all depends on the details.

 

[stealth2]

p/x.

 

[LdiJ]

i'm in calif. So my mom and step father purchased the home I grew up in. Step dad died in 2012. The house is to be split 4 ways when mom passes. The house is becoming to much for mom. Can she sell the house?

I think at the time she just signed it and doesn't really know other than my step fathers daughter was included in the 4 way split. Years later my mom doesn't want his daughter getting anything as my mom paid for 3/4 on the home. The daughter has never liked my mom, was not part of the family as she was much older and had her own life, has proven to be a gold digger as she married two old men who died and she got everything and we believe she planned this marrying these old men. she is pissed because my step fathers pension, when he died he made it so it was split between my mom, his daughter, and his son, leaving out my brother and I. She thought that the wife should get all the pension.

Please answer the questions asked as a response to those questions rather than editing your original post. If your mother doesn't know the details then no one can tell her or you whether or not she can sell. She has to find out those details in orders to figure it out.

 

[zddoodah]

my mom and step father purchased the home I grew up in. Step dad died in 2012. The house is to be split 4 ways when mom passes. The house is becoming to much for mom. Can she sell the house?

You've given us no reason to believe she lacks that ability. However, here are some questions you should answer:

1. When your mother and stepfather purchased the house, how did they take title. For example, "John Smith and Jane Smith, as husband and wife," or "John Smith and Jane Smith, as community property."

2. Following your stepfather's death, did your mother record an Affidavit of Surviving Spouse or Affidavit of Death of Joint Tenant (something like this) such that title to the house is now solely in her name?

3. When you say that "[t]he house is to be split 4 ways when mom passes," why do you say that? Is that because that's what her will currently says? Also, does it mean that title is to pass to four individuals or that the house is to be sold and the proceeds divided among four people?

I think at the time she just signed it and doesn't really know other than my step fathers daughter was included in the 4 way split.

Signed what? Doesn't really know what?

 

[Dean Powell]

You've given us no reason to believe she lacks that ability. However, here are some questions you should answer:

1. When your mother and stepfather purchased the house, how did they take title. For example, "John Smith and Jane Smith, as husband and wife," or "John Smith and Jane Smith, as community property."

2. Following your stepfather's death, did your mother record an Affidavit of Surviving Spouse or Affidavit of Death of Joint Tenant (something like this) such that title to the house is now solely in her name?

3. When you say that "[t]he house is to be split 4 ways when mom passes," why do you say that? Is that because that's what her will currently says? Also, does it mean that title is to pass to four individuals or that the house is to be sold and the proceeds divided among four people?




Signed what? Doesn't really know what?

She seems not to know what she signed other than when they both pass the house is split 4 ways. And being that I remember some debt to be paid to some company I assume the house will be sold but I don't really know. So I guess I will tell her that we need to go read what it is that she signed, obviously.

 

[stealth2]

She seems not to know what she signed other than when they both pass the house is split 4 ways. And being that I remember some debt to be paid to some company I assume the house will be sold but I don't really know. So I guess I will tell her that we need to go read what it is that she signed, obviously.

I dunno - I think *she* should consult with a lawyer who can explain to her what she signed and the ramifications.

 

[zddoodah]

She seems not to know what she signed other than when they both pass the house is split 4 ways. And being that I remember some debt to be paid to some company I assume the house will be sold but I don't really know. So I guess I will tell her that we need to go read what it is that she signed, obviously.

The bottom line is that, if the house is titled to her (and only her), then she can do with it as she pleases. If it's in both her and your stepfather's names, then she should file an affidavit (as I mentioned previously), and she can then do as she pleases. If it's titled to a trust, then only someone who has reviewed the trust can speak intelligently about the possibilities. Obviously, if there are encumbrances against title (e.g., a mortgage/deed of trust), then those would have to be paid or otherwise cleared for a market value sale to happen.