How to sell family property - Wichita Falls Real Estate Attorney answers

A few months ago, one of my clients was at odds with her brother. Her brother had been ignoring her calls, texts, and Facebook messages—not a great start for any story. See, my client and her brother owned roughly 100 acres together. Not by their choice, mind you, but by virtue of “intestate succession”—when someone dies without a will. It did not matter how long the brother had lived on the property (a long time), how much the brother had paid to maintain the property (not much), or that the taxes had not been paid (that lawsuit was already underway). As far as the law stood, the brother and sister each owned a share of the property. She could not sell the property without him, no he without her. A classic “rock and a hard place” situation.

So what happened?

My client hired me to recover her share of the property. When co-owners are at odds with each other and neither one will buy the other out, then a judge will either divide the property (think of drawing lines on a map) or sell the property. Sometimes co-owners can resolve a dispute themselves (usually by exchanging money for a deed) or agree where to draw the lines themselves (called a “partition deed”). But other times, as was the case here, we had to get the court involved.

After completing more paperwork than a new patient at a doctor’s office, the judge ordered the sale of the property and ordered the Constable to remove the brother from the property. When the dust settled, my client received her fair share, plus compensation for the brother’s damage to the property, plus reimbursement for her attorney’s fees and court costs. A happy day after nearly a yearslong effort.

Hopefully, you are wondering how this happened or better yet how this could have been avoided. No one likes fighting with their family let alone paying an attorney or going to court. My clients’ parents could have drafted a will or some other legal document to prevent this situation. Of course, there are no guarantees in the law—which might be the only guarantee. Death, money, and property often bring out the worst in us, which makes planning all the more difficult. But planning for one’s death is certainly better than ignoring one’s mortality. As Psalm 90:12 says, “Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.”

If you find yourself at odds with a co-owner, it is usually better to attempt resolution first before heading down to the courthouse. Likewise, if you anticipate your children squabbling after your passing, it is usually best to have a written plan in place. But, alas, should the negotiating and planning fail, we have laws, lots of laws—especially for real estate in Texas.