My brother wants to sell his share in our parents home

GDB2222

Emily_Joy said:

Alas my sister in law, my brother's wife is a lawyer. She already took her mother to court over a holiday home in Spain ..  and won. So court action is probably and empty thread.

In that case, I suggest that you have a quiet discussion with your brother, with a view to agreeing a solution. Before that, you need to know the terms attached to his ownership of half the house. In particular, do mum and dad have a right to remain in the property? 

For what it's worth, I don't think it's obvious that your brother is entirely in the wrong. He was given an asset, and he wants to sell it. There was no point giving it to him in the first place unless he could do something with it. 

Emily_Joy

In case it matters... the transfer happened roughly 16 years ago when my brother was only 19. I doubt he understood the significance back then. He has to take temporary withdrawal from uni due to healh issues and the future was rather unclear. I guess my mother reasoned it is better for him to have some assets. Now if we buy him out, I will be enjoying 1) the house in Midlands where we live with my husband (with mortgage) 2) a half of my parents home... (probably also with a small mortgage, I am not sure yet) except that my job is near London and I am actually renting a room in someone's else house without any conrol over heating!

RHemmings

Emily_Joy said:

In case it matters... the transfer happened roughly 16 years ago when my brother was only 19. I doubt he understood the significance back then. He has to take temporary withdrawal from uni due to healh issues and the future was rather unclear. I guess my mother reasoned it is better for him to have some assets. Now if we buy him out, I will be enjoying 1) the house in Midlands where we live with my husband (with mortgage) 2) a half of my parents home... (probably also with a small mortgage, I am not sure yet) except that my job is near London and I am actually renting a room in someone's else house without any conrol over heating!

As asked before by someone else, do you know what will happen to the other half of the house when your parents pass on? 

Emily_Joy

RHemmings said:

Emily_Joy said:

In case it matters... the transfer happened roughly 16 years ago when my brother was only 19. I doubt he understood the significance back then. He has to take temporary withdrawal from uni due to healh issues and the future was rather unclear. I guess my mother reasoned it is better for him to have some assets. Now if we buy him out, I will be enjoying 1) the house in Midlands where we live with my husband (with mortgage) 2) a half of my parents home... (probably also with a small mortgage, I am not sure yet) except that my job is near London and I am actually renting a room in someone's else house without any conrol over heating!

As asked before by someone else, do you know what will happen to the other half of the house when your parents pass on? 

I don't know actually. My father has two children from his first marriage (my mother is his second wife), but they have stayed on the continent for a while now and we haven't seen each other lately.

elsien

GDB2222 said:

Emily_Joy said:

Alas my sister in law, my brother's wife is a lawyer. She already took her mother to court over a holiday home in Spain ..  and won. So court action is probably and empty thread.

In that case, I suggest that you have a quiet discussion with your brother, with a view to agreeing a solution. Before that, you need to know the terms attached to his ownership of half the house. In particular, do mum and dad have a right to remain in the property? 

For what it's worth, I don't think it's obvious that your brother is entirely in the wrong. He was given an asset, and he wants to sell it. There was no point giving it to him in the first place unless he could do something with it. 

Fairly sure that there would have been an agreement, although not clearly evidenced, that selling the house out from under his parents would not be part of the plan. Or perhaps the parents felt it was so obvious it didn't need saying. Either way, unless the brother is completely stupid, he would know that his parents did not plan to be kicked out of their home following the gift being made.

sheramber

Due to his I’ll health the mother may have expected to live with them permanently so  didn’t anticipate him moving out and buying somewhere else.