Q: What are my options as POA to a parent to force the sale of a co-owned house without cooperation of the other party?
I am power of attorney for my parent. My elderly parent co-owns a house with a sibling. I am concerned that this property will be soon going into foreclosure as my sibling has not made a mortgage payment for many months and in fact my parent had made most payments prior to this year but has stopped doing so. Naturally it would be preferable to sell the house to reclaim any equity.
The issue is that my parent and my sibling are on the deed, my parent and my sibling are on the mortgage, but only my parent is on the note, leaving my parent responsible for the payments which my parent in turn expected the sibling to make in good faith. A complication is that the sibling is estranged from the family currently, so it would be difficult to get the sibling to cooperate with a sale, especially since it is also the sibling's residence. My parent has never resided in that home.
Are there any legal options for me as POA to force the sale of the house without the cooperation of the sibling?
A: When a co-owner refuses to cooperate in the sale of real property located in New York, a partition action may be commenced to compel the sale of the property at auction. In most cases, the parties reach a settlement regarding the sale before an auction is actually required.
Peter Klose agrees with this answer
A: You would need to bring a partition action in Supreme Court to get a court ordered sale. In that process, there would be an opportunity for settlement, including a sale on consent.
Peter Klose and Jack Mevorach agree with this answer
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