Clarification of wording on real estate agreement

[smitty427]

What is the name of your state? NY
I was named the owner of my mother's house on a quit claim deed prior to her death. My sister had a separate agreement drawn up, which stated that upon my mother's death, a reasonable attempt to sell the home quickly must be made, & the profit split among her three heirs. I have been living in the home for 12 years, took care of my mother & have been paying the taxes & utilities . I don't have the financial means to move at this time & do not want to sell the home. I did list the house with a real estate agent for 6 months, and the house did not sell. Can my sister force me to sell the house at this point, or am I able to continue living here? The wording of "reasonable attempt" & "quickly" seem a bit vague.

 

[Shadowbunny]

What is the name of your state? NY
Before my mother passed away, my sister had a Quit Claim Deed drawn up regarding my mother's house. This stated that the house was to be placed in my name, however, upon my mother's death, it states, "a reasonable attempt to sell the house quickly, must be made, & the profits from the sale are to be split among her three heirs".
I have been living in the home for the past 12 years, & was the one taking care of my mother. My sister had us sign this form, under duress, & I did not realize that it would force me to move from my home, having nowhere else to live. I did place the house for sale, signing a 6 month contract with a real estate agent, under which the house did not sell. The wording in this quit claim deed is very vague, stating the house must sell "quickly" after a reasonable attempt. I wish to stay in my home, & not sell at this point. Does the vague wording in this deed enforce any type of timeline for the sale of the home, or am I able to live there for an indefinite amount of time? Can they force me to sell after I made a reasonable attempt?

"Reasonable attempt" and "quickly" are terms that a judge will most likely have to make a ruling on when the other heirs get tired of you not selling the home.

Why don't you offer to buy out their shares? Otherwise, you may find yourself being forced to leave.

 

[justalayman]

Your quit claim deed doesn’t sound like it’s a quit claim deed. Quit claim deeds relinquish the grantors interest to the grantee. I have no idea what you have. Take whatever you have and visit a lawyer

 

[adjusterjack]

What is the name of your state? NY
I was named the owner of my mother's house on a quit claim deed prior to her death. My sister had a separate agreement drawn up, which stated that upon my mother's death, a reasonable attempt to sell the home quickly must be made, & the profit split among her three heirs. I have been living in the home for 12 years, took care of my mother & have been paying the taxes & utilities . I don't have the financial means to move at this time & do not want to sell the home. I did list the house with a real estate agent for 6 months, and the house did not sell. Can my sister force me to sell the house at this point, or am I able to continue living here? The wording of "reasonable attempt" & "quickly" seem a bit vague.

Nobody can answer any of that without reading the "quit claim deed" or your sister's "agreement." Take both to a lawyer and review your options.

Meantime, you are free to stay put until somebody serves you with court papers. If you haven't seen a lawyer before that, you'll certainly need to see one when that happens.

 

[LdiJ]

What is the name of your state? NY
I was named the owner of my mother's house on a quit claim deed prior to her death. My sister had a separate agreement drawn up, which stated that upon my mother's death, a reasonable attempt to sell the home quickly must be made, & the profit split among her three heirs. I have been living in the home for 12 years, took care of my mother & have been paying the taxes & utilities . I don't have the financial means to move at this time & do not want to sell the home. I did list the house with a real estate agent for 6 months, and the house did not sell. Can my sister force me to sell the house at this point, or am I able to continue living here? The wording of "reasonable attempt" & "quickly" seem a bit vague.

I agree that you need an attorney who can review your paperwork. However, if you were named the owner of the home on a true quit claim deed, then unless you were a signatory of the agreement that your sister drew up, you own the home and are not required to sell or split the proceeds.

In addition, if you do sell the home you will be responsible for capital gains tax on the entire home because your mother gave it to you before she died, so it is NOT an inheritance, its a gift. Therefore you will not get a stepped up basis, you will have to use her basis. Therefore, you should not be giving any money to your sisters until you have deducted what the taxes will cost. On top of that, any money that you give your sisters will be a gift, and you will have to file a gift tax return if the money is greater than 15k each. You won't owe any actual tax, but you will have to file the returns.

So, you also need to see a tax professional as well.

 

[HRZ]

Agree you need clarification of exectly what Mom seems to have deeded you and what Sis supposedly concocted .

IF and that's an uncertain if right now, IF Mom gave you a quit claim deed to home earlier and that was properly recorded, then mom gave you the home done deal .