May several brothers receive family home inheritance It is the most common. Once accepted, it’s time to decide what to do with the house. Many times the option is to sell it, but what happens if you don’t want to? Can the rest of the brothers force him?
The general rule is that to sell a home, all owners must agree. However, there is a case in which the heirs can force another to sell and that is when the division action is brought before the courts, as explained by the General Council of Notaries through its website.
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This process usually ends in property auction and with the distribution of the money among the heirs. However, before reaching this route, the heirs have other alternatives with which to avoid the trial.
What to do if one of the siblings does not want to sell the inherited home
When the heirs do not agree when deciding what to do with the home or one of them does not want to sell, different alternatives can be considered.
1) Let the brother who does not want to sell keep the home
In this case, the brother who does not want to sell will be able to keep the house by paying the rest their part of the price that corresponds to them, as stated in article 1,062 of the Civil Code.
Now, it must be taken into account that this same article establishes that: the same precept allows that if one only requests the public auction, it will be carried out.
2) Conciliation between heirs (mediation)
The Voluntary Jurisdiction Law (art. 139.1) allows resorting to conciliation to try to reach an agreement and avoid trial.
This conciliation can end in three ways:
- With agreement and voluntary compliance of all heirs.
- With an agreement that is not fulfilled, its judicial execution must be requested.
- Without agreement, having to go to trial.
3) Voluntary auction
In the event that all the siblings want to sell the house, but cannot agree on the price at which to do so, they can request a voluntary auction.
To do this, they must submit an application to the Court with the appraisal value. Once the property is auctioned, the home can be awarded at the set price or lower, and the heirs can decide whether to stop the auction or accept the best offer.
4) Proindiviso sale
Heirs who do wish to sell can transfer their share to a third party to be the owner of the proindivisa share that corresponds to them. This is usually done through companies that are dedicated to the purchase of undivided shares and, although it usually implies a reduction in the price, it provides liquidity and avoids litigation.