In many families, a parent who passes away may leave their home or other real estate to multiple heirs, such as children or grandchildren. However, when multiple family members share in the inheritance of a property during the estate administration process, what rules apply when selling the property? For example, can one heir force a sale of the property, or do all the heirs or beneficiaries have to agree to sell? Pennsylvania law provides rules for the disposition of property inherited by multiple beneficiaries.
How Property Ownership Works Among Multiple Heirs in PA
When multiple family members inherit a property from a loved one, they take title to the property as tenants in common. In a tenancy in common, each owner holds a distinct, separate, transferable interest in the property, which may be equal or unequal. For example, when siblings inherit a property from a parent via state intestacy law, each sibling will receive an equal share of the property. However, a decedent can leave a property in unequal shares to beneficiaries through their will. Regardless of whether family members inherit equal or unequal shares, each heir typically has an equal right to use, occupy, or inhabit the property.
Do All Heirs Have to Agree to Sell?
Although an heir may have the right to sell their interest in an inherited property, all heirs must agree to a sale that disposes of the property. Thus, one family member can block a sale of the property that the other heirs want. An heir’s objection to selling an inherited property can delay the settlement of an estate.
What If One or More Heirs Don’t Agree?
When one or some of the heirs who inherited a property do not agree to sell it, the heirs who want to sell have two legal options. First, the heirs who want to sell can negotiate a buyout of their interests, selling their shares in the property to the heir(s) who want to keep it. A buyout will require a family to obtain an appraisal of the property’s value to calculate the purchase price for the selling heir(s)’s interests. A buyout can also become more complicated if the heirs who want to keep the property need to obtain financing to buy out their family member’s interests.
Alternatively, when heir(s) who want to keep the property refuse to buy out other heirs, the heirs who want to sell may need to file a partition action. Partition actions come in two forms:
- Partition in Kind – A partition in kind physically divides real property between tenants in common. These partitions work best for undeveloped tracts of land or properties with multiple residences for each owner.
- Partition by Sale – In a partition by sale, the court orders a private sale or public auction of the property, with the net proceeds divided among the tenants in common according to each tenant’s share of the property.
A partition action can lead to expensive, time-consuming litigation when heirs fight over the details of the partition process, such as whether to conduct a partition in kind or partition by sale, or whether to conduct a private sale or public auction for a partition by sale.
Contact an Estate Administration Attorney Today
If you and your family members have inherited real property from a loved one, an experienced attorney can help you understand the process of selling it, especially when everyone disagrees over whether to keep or sell the property. Contact Gusty Sunseri & Associates, P.C., today for a free consultation with an estate planning lawyer to learn more about the requirements for selling an inherited property in Pennsylvania.