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Does anyone know anything about wills and estate planning? If 4 people were listed as beneficiaries of a home and 2 of them want to keep the property and 2 don’t, what happens? Can the 2 people wanting to keep the property refuse to buy out the other 2? Are there any rules for this sort of thing?
Generally if 2 people want to keep the home they would need to buy the other two out at current market value. I believe if they do not wish to do a buy out the property will be sold.
I would suggest consulting a lawyer. I agree with Zippy1 that if even one person wants to sell the others who want to keep it would have to buy them out, I imagine that would be cheaper than having the courts decide. I doubt you can force someone to keep a house that has costs they may not be able to afford.
I would consult a lawyer also, but I know when my grandparents passed away, my uncle wanted to keep the house and had to pay my mom and aunt for the house.
When my mom died I wanted the family home and my 2 sisters did not.
A fair market value for the home was calculated (my sisters did that I stayed out of it, but we could have hired a real estate agent to do a full appraisal) and the value was added into the estate that was then divided by 3.
I received less cash when the estate settled since i took my 1/3 as the house.
Nanc
Thanks everyone. I will be getting a lawyer. I was just hoping to find out what to expect.
It may be best to get a lawyer. You should at least go consult with one to help get a plan together. However, the best scenario would be to work it out among yourselves. Typically, when an estate is willed to more than one person, there is always one or more that want to sell it and have the money (they then spend it on frivolous nonsense such as new cars that they could not otherwise afford and then 8 years down the road they have nothing to show for it but oh well). Anyway, you will have to buy them out if they want to sell. If you get into a disagreement and all hire lawyers and start firing shots back and forth, the lawyers have already looked into how much they can milk all of you for and will most likely be talking behind the scenes if they know each other. You will all lose a significant amount of the estate's value if you get lawyers involved.
If you do get lawyers involved, it possibly drag on for a couple or 3 years and the property will be held up in probate. In the end, the judge will order it to be sold, the lawyers will get their cut if they took it on contingency and the court will get all of their fees. What is left will be divided equally among you unless the will had other provisions.
Your situation isn't really a dispute about who was willed what but rather what they want to do with their share. Sometimes disputes arise over who gets what and is why my will has a no contest clause. I provided for who I want to get what and I did it for a reason. If any of my heirs decide to be greedy or just spiteful, I have a clause that states they get absolutely nothing if they contest my will and their share is to then be divided equally among the others. It is typically best to leave the primary home to one that would probably like to have it and will the others assets as you see fit. That helps cut down on a lot of the disputes.