Partition Sale of Home Inherited by Three Sisters

Question: My two sisters and I inherited our parents’ Carefree home three months ago, and we have been arguing constantly. One of my sisters wants to live in the home at reduced rent, and my other sister wants to rent the home to a tenant at full rental value because she needs the money. I want to sell the home, as my husband and I are retiring and moving to Mexico.  Help!

Answer: You should hire an attorney to file a partition lawsuit, which is no-fault like a divorce. In other words, even if only one spouse wants a divorce, there will still be a divorce. Similarly, even if only one owner wants to sell a home or other jointly-owned real property, there will be a partition sale of the jointly-owned real property. The process is that, after a partition lawsuit is filed and served by you, the Court will appoint a Special Commissioner (probably  a Carefree Realtor) to sell the Carefree home. After the Carefree home is sold, the net proceeds will be sent to the Court to be distributed to the three of you, when the three of you reach an agreement on how to divide the sale proceeds. If you and your two sisters cannot reach an agreement, a jury will have to decide!