Your parents leave you and your two siblings their cottage on the water. It’s a small place, but it’s incredibly valuable and has been in the family for generations. It’s also valuable since you and your siblings have a lot of memories tied to that place from when you were kids. This is your home away from home.
What should you do with it now that you own it? And how can you resolve any disputes with your siblings over the issue?
When siblings do not agree on inherited property
There are some basic options, such as selling the cottage, keeping it to use with your own children, or even turning it onto a rental property. These seem straightforward enough, but things may not be all that simple. After all, this is a valuable property. The taxes are high. Maintenance costs a lot. So does insurance.
Maybe you are fairly wealthy, so you think it’s obvious that the three of you should keep the cottage and continue to use it. One of your siblings is always near bankruptcy, though, and they say they can’t afford to keep it. Instead, they view it as a valuable asset that they can sell to solve their debt issues.
It’s hard to decide what to do. Can you force your sibling to keep a property they can’t afford? On the other hand, can they force you to sell a cottage that you want to keep, effectively cutting you out of a cherished family heirloom? You don’t care about the money, so this would feel like nothing but a devastating loss, even if it sold for a nice profit.
Working with an attorney can help you understand the options
When you find yourself in a complex situation like this, you need to understand all of your options. Most of the time, there is a solution that will work without tearing your family apart. An attorney can help you learn more.
