Q: My husband, myself and my mother in law are on title for our home. My mother in law threatened me 2 months ago and under
police advice, I have not been in my home since. My mother in law had a litigation attorney contact my husband over a month ago to tell us she would agree to a buy- out. We applied for a loan based on that information, and now that the loan is ready, my mother-in law told my husband that she may want to sell instead. Do we have any legal recourse, since we acted on her original direction to her attorney? In the mean-time, our real estate attorney has contacted her attorney several times, but her attorney has not responded. We have a time limit on our loan which is getting close to expiring. Thank you for any input!
A:
It sounds as if you, your husband, and mother-in-law are tenants-in-common on the Deed of Ownership. Without seeing the Deed, you are most likely equal owners. Your mother-in-law doesn't have to sell her interest, she can remain an owner or she can sell her interest to a third party. There is not much you can do to make her sell the property to you. Hopefully, your husband can convince her to sell her ownership interest in the property.
By the way, since you are an owner, your mother-in-law cannot oust you from the property. You have just as much right as she does to occupy and use the property.
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