wills

[kjsted]

michigan- my mother-in-law and her only sibling, a brother, were "willed" 50-50 in their father's estate when he died. there are three properties. one that he lives on, one that my mother-in-law and my husband and I live on, and another that sets vacant. the brother doesn't work because he's lazy; the sister(my mother-in-law) pays the land taxes on everything. is there a way to get him off the will or to sever any rights to these properties because he has never payed any taxes in the past 13 years since their father died? My husband and I would love to build a home on the property that we live on now, but my mother-in-law fears if we do, her brother
could possibly do "something" bad since it's half his. Please help!

 

[loku]

severence

You are right to be concerned. The brother does own ½ of the property. There is a procedure your mother-in-law can go through to sever the property. The court would end up giving title to part of the property to the brother and part to your mother-in-law. You would be well advised to hire a local lawyer versed in real property law to do this for you.

Possibly, the taxes your mother-in-law paid over the years would be a factor in determining which property goes to whom.