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Can my sister legally keep me out of the house since I'm a quarter owner of it? Can I demand a key or have the locks changed?
Anonymous9 views1 answers
I live in Tennessee. My mother recently passed away and she had already deeded her home over to her four children. She owned the home free and clear. My sister is the executrix of the estate, which since the house was already deeded to us children just includes the contents of the house. In a letter my sister stated that the value of the house contents is only $3000. She and the other siblings have already taken the possessions they wanted. The sister who is the executrix is mad at me and has changed the locks on the house. She also won't allow me in unless she is there. There are specific items my mother wanted me to have and I want to go there at my will and without my sisters presence.
You are probably not going to be able to keep your sister away while you are there, and if all your siblings don't agree, probably no one should be taking things out of the residence. Its never a good idea to try to represent yourself, so the best advice is to retain a lawyer who regularly handles estate matters. Unless the will excuses it, the executrix is supposed to file an "inventory" of the estate assets ( and this list will show you where she gets the figure of $3,000 for the house contents). If the will excuses or waives inventory, you may have to file a motion asking that the executrix be replaced by someone else who will handle things more fairly. The executrix should not show favoritism among the heirs ( unless the will says differently. You will probably need to prove that assets of the estate have already been removed ( and that is sometimes hard when the people who have those items don't want you to know they have taken something). You say there are things your mother wanted you to have- I assume she said it in the will. If its not in the will, you are not going to get it. You don't mention it, but you don't say anything about the house itself, I am not sure I would want to be a co-owner of a house with other siblings who may have cheated you out of your share of assets or taken more than their share. Your have the right to have the house sold under a process called "partition." Again, you best bet is to consult an attorney.
