Saraland, AL asked in Contracts, Estate Planning, Real Estate Law, Land Use & Zoning and Probate for Alabama

Q: What rights does my husband have? What rights does the 6th kid have? Can the 6th kid stop my husband from ownership?

My husbands Grandma and Grandpa have 7 kids and 17.8 acres of land. GM, GP, and 1 kid have passed away. 5 of the remaining kids want to sell their rights to the 17.8 acres to my husband. The 6th kid does not want to sell. How does my husband go about full ownership?

1 Lawyer Answer
Mr. James Parrish Coleman
Mr. James Parrish Coleman
Answered
  • Probate Lawyer
  • Robertsdale, AL

A: This is a common problem. As I understand, there are 6 heirs at law of grandparents. One child has died. If that child had any children, they have the same rights as their deceased parents. So, if all parties but one wants to sell, what to do? FIrst, the property could be sold through the estate of the grandparent who was last to die. This would entail opening and estate. If there was a will for that last to die grandparent, this would be much easier to handle. If there was no will you would open an intestate succession and then get court approval to sell the property. THis all assumes they died within the last 20 years. That is basically how you would handle it through the probate process. If all else fails, you would end up with a "sale for division" in the Circuit Court. This is expensive, and a real pain. However, one property owner cannot hold up the sale if all the others want to sell. THey can, in a sale for division, buy the property for a fair price -- provided they out-bid the other owners. You need to see a lawyer about this

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