What rights do I have about selling or not selling an inherited cabin I share with my 2 brothers?: 3 of us siblings inherited our family cabin when my mom died this year. We all have different ideas as to what to do. What are my legal rights to say I don't want to give up my share of the cabin when my brothers want to buy it or sell it. We live in MN but the cabin is in WI.
Kirk’s answer: One or two of the siblings need to buy the others interest out. It seems apparent you do not want it sold but want to maintain some control and ownership. To do that buy the interests of the others out.
Is there any way to get an estate attorney to finish the process without having to hire an attorney? Petition courts? Ad news?: My dad passed away 3 years ago next month. The executor named, initially declined the position, then changed his mind for reasons unknown. I have had no communication with the executor throughout the entire 3 years (not for lack of trying). The executor then acquired a probate attorney who was responsive, at first, now he will not return my calls or emails. I have no clue what the remaining amount of distribution is or if it would be a wash to hire my own attorney.
Kirk’s answer: If the matter is in probate in the court you could send a letter to the judge explaining how you are being disregarded. As an heir, you have many rights when the matter is in the court. If it's not in the court you then need an attorney to file an action in the court to have you or someone else appointed to be the personal representative because the current PR is not doing their job.
Who holds the earnest money when not using a realtor as in a developer wanting to buy our property: developer has offered to buy our property with a contract that allows the buyer to opt out if the city does not give development approval. The developer, so far, has not offered earnest money. We are still negotiating the purchase price and want to include a non refundable deposit as we would be taking our property off the market for nearly a year. We are looking for wording to use to request a deposit or earnest money whichever might be appropriate. We live in Minnesota and are not using a real estate agent.
Kirk’s answer:
Be careful. I have handled many situations such as your with a sale to a developer. The earnest money is the easy part. It can be held by you in a savings account or by a title company is an escrow account.
Your biggest issue with a developer is the terms of the contract as to a number of things. Often the seller is happy about the $ but rushes the matter by signing only to tie the property up for a very long time with no ability to force the developer to close. You need to have contact terms that if the developer does not perform in certain ways by certain time the contract is void and you can go back to the market. This and other factors are important.
Then you have the sale price. In almost all cases where I represent sellers, they are ready to jump on a $50,000 to $75,000 per acre sale price where in reality their parcel may be worth much more depending on where it is at with utilities and city plans. I have handled sales of $150,000 and more per acre by knowing how to value the property and get the best developer capable of closing and doing so sooner than later. Since the market is hot you need good terms now because if the sale does not go through and the market goes south you could be sitting on the land for 15-20 years waiting for new home sales to get solid again. I have seen developers tie up a sellers land for years because they could not close and the owner could do nothing because they had bad contract terms.