Sibling who never moves out of mom's home -- does she eventually own it?

[GeorgeSpelvin]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Tennessee

I'm not sure if this falls under the category of real estate law, but here goes: Basically, the situation is that I have several siblings; we are all of adult age. Recently, one became divorced and moved into our mother's home due to financial issues. Although our mother viewed this as a temporary situation, our sister does not. She has hinted to others about her belief that if she remains as a "guest" at our mother's house long enough, she will eventually own it. Our mother is in her 70's, very passive, and unable to set limits against our sister, who is very domineering.

Bottom line is this: Our mother is herself divorced and may not even have a current Will. It's very difficult to discuss these matters with her, so she may not. While this sounds rather awful, the rest of the siblings view it as unfair that our sister could assume ownership of a fairly valuable piece of property, not to mention the contents of the house, simply by never moving out. In Tennessee, are there some kind of "squatter's rights" or other laws that would pertain to this situation?

Let's say it's a decade or two from now and our mother passes away, and the sibling is still living in the basement. If our mother's Estate is divided between all the kids, can the rest of us either force the one sibling out of the home so it can be sold? (She's not likely to have the money to "buy out" everyone else's shares). Our concern is that she would simply say, as she is already hinting, that she has nowhere else to go, has been living there a long time, and therefore should be allowed to stay indefinitely -- or worse, that she "claims" the property as her own due to having been allowed to live there for so long.

What are the relevant legal issues? Can anything be done to prevent an ugly situation from happening years from now?

 

[justalayman]

well, she doesn't gain ownership simply by being a leach.

If there is no will, the laws of Tennessee intestate succession direct:

Tennessee Intestate Succession Laws

If any part of a Tennessee decedent's estate is not effectively disposed of by will, the intestate share will be distributed in the following order and manner:

1. Surviving spouse. A surviving spouse is generally first in line to get any assets from the intestate estate, including both separate property and the one-half of community property that belongs to the decedent. However, the amount a surviving spouse is entitled to varies as follows:

* If there is no surviving issue (e.g., child or grandchild) of decedent, the surviving spouse is entitled to the entire intestate estate.
* If there are surviving issue of the decedent, the surviving spouse is entitled to the greater of one-third or a child's share of the entire intestate estate.

2. Heirs other than surviving spouse. Any part of the intestate estate not passing to the surviving spouse as indicated above, or the entire intestate estate if there is no surviving spouse, passes as follows to:

1. Decedent's issue. If they are all of the same degree of kinship to the decedent they take equally, but if of unequal degree, then those of more remote degree take by per stirpes representation.
2. Decedent's parent or parents equally.
3. Decedent's brothers and sisters and the issue of each deceased brother and sister by per stirpes representation. If there is no surviving brother or sister, the issue of brothers and sisters take by per stirpes representation.
4. If none of the above relatives are available, but the decedent is survived by one or more grandparents or issue of grandparents, half of the estate passes to the paternal grandparents if both survive, or to the surviving paternal grandparent or to the issue of the paternal grandparents if both are deceased. Such issue take equally if they are all of the same degree of kinship to the decedent and, if of unequal degree those of more remote degree take by per stirpes representation. The other half passes to the maternal relatives in the same manner. If there is no surviving grandparent or issue of grandparent on either the paternal or maternal side, the entire estate passes to the relatives on the other side in the same manner as the half.

3. State of Tennessee. If there is no taker under any of the above provisions, the intestate estate passes to the state of Tennessee.

Tennessee Intestate Succession Law Fun Facts

* Relatives of the half blood inherit the same share they would inherit if they were of the whole blood.
* Relatives of the decedent conceived before his death but born thereafter inherit as if they had been born in the lifetime of the decedent (provided the new-born lives at least 120 hours after birth).
* Any person who fails to survive the decedent by 120 hours is deemed to have predeceased the decedent for purposes of intestate succession (which means that the person generally doesn't get a share of the decedent's estate). If it cannot be established by clear and convincing evidence that the person who would otherwise be an heir has survived the decedent by 120 hours, it is considered that the person failed to survive for the required period. However, these rules don't apply if the end result is that the state of Tennessee gets the intestate estate.
* Tennessee's intestate succession laws can be found in Title 31 of the Tennessee Code.

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CCH Financial Planning Toolkit | Tennessee Intestate Succession Laws

the problem is; what to do with sis. Probating an estate can be a pain in the rump and if you have heirs that stymie the process, it can make it even more difficult, and expensive.

 

[HomeGuru]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Tennessee

I'm not sure if this falls under the category of real estate law, but here goes: Basically, the situation is that I have several siblings; we are all of adult age. Recently, one became divorced and moved into our mother's home due to financial issues. Although our mother viewed this as a temporary situation, our sister does not. She has hinted to others about her belief that if she remains as a "guest" at our mother's house long enough, she will eventually own it. Our mother is in her 70's, very passive, and unable to set limits against our sister, who is very domineering.

Bottom line is this: Our mother is herself divorced and may not even have a current Will. It's very difficult to discuss these matters with her, so she may not. While this sounds rather awful, the rest of the siblings view it as unfair that our sister could assume ownership of a fairly valuable piece of property, not to mention the contents of the house, simply by never moving out. In Tennessee, are there some kind of "squatter's rights" or other laws that would pertain to this situation?

Let's say it's a decade or two from now and our mother passes away, and the sibling is still living in the basement. If our mother's Estate is divided between all the kids, can the rest of us either force the one sibling out of the home so it can be sold? (She's not likely to have the money to "buy out" everyone else's shares). Our concern is that she would simply say, as she is already hinting, that she has nowhere else to go, has been living there a long time, and therefore should be allowed to stay indefinitely -- or worse, that she "claims" the property as her own due to having been allowed to live there for so long.

What are the relevant legal issues? Can anything be done to prevent an ugly situation from happening years from now?

**A: yes, time to seek advice from an estate attorney.

 

[GeorgeSpelvin]

Thanks - sounds like she's engaging in wishful thinking

well, she doesn't gain ownership simply by being a leach.

If there is no will, the laws of Tennessee intestate succession direct:



the problem is; what to do with sis. Probating an estate can be a pain in the rump and if you have heirs that stymie the process, it can make it even more difficult, and expensive.

It's reassuring to know that she doesn't gain ownership simply by remaining there for years. Of course, that doesn't solve the sticky problem of getting her out. Especially when she claims, as she will, that she can't afford to go elsewhere.... But I suppose that's more a "family problem" than a legal problem.

 

[justalayman]

refer back to homegurus advice.

 

[HomeGuru]

It's reassuring to know that she doesn't gain ownership simply by remaining there for years. Of course, that doesn't solve the sticky problem of getting her out. Especially when she claims, as she will, that she can't afford to go elsewhere.... But I suppose that's more a "family problem" than a legal problem.

**A: the family problem does indeed become a legal problem, since the family now must hire an attorney to serve her with notice to vacate the property.