Selling a Home You Half Own

What happens if your soon-to-be ex-husband sells his half of your home. How do you sell a home you half own?

Q: My disabled sister has been separated from her husband. Her husband signed over half of the house to his aunt. My sister never signed that deed. So my sister is now stuck paying the taxes on the home without receiving any income. We think that he either forged her signature or they (her husband and his aunt) did something fraudulent for the aunt to gain half of the house.

We need to know what we can do. My aunt isn’t paying any of the expenses for the home and my sister wants to sell the home.

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A: Thank you for your question and we’re sorry your sister is facing these serious issues with her husband.

Let’s start with ownership. In your email, you didn’t mention how your sister and her husband owned their home. That is to say, we don’t know how they held title to their home.

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Most married couples hold title to their primary home in their own names, versus holding it in a trust or some sort of corporation. If they hold the property in their own name, they typically choose to hold title as joint tenants with rights of survivorship or tenants by the entirety. In either case, upon the death of one of the owners, the survivor would become the sole owner of the home.

Many married couples believe that neither spouse would or could sell their interest in the home without the consent or approval of the other owner. That’s not correct. Either owner can sell or transfer their interest in the home. However, that transfer only transfers one person’s ownership interest in the home.

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Let’s say your sister and her husband owned their home jointly. When her husband deeded the home to his aunt, the aunt became a one-half owner of the home with your sister. Your sister and her husband’s aunt would be tenants in common, meaning that they each owned their own share of the property and could dispose of it at will. Upon the death of either of them, their interest in the home would not go to the co-owner but, rather, to the person designated under the deceased person’s will or as provided under the laws of the state in which the home was located.

Your sister’s husband does not need her signature to sell his interest in the home. After her husband conveyed half the home to his aunt, his aunt and your sisters would each own a 50 percent interest in the home.

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Does your sister live in the home? If your sister lives in the home, she’s getting the benefit of using the home and would likely have to continue to pay the expenses for the home including the real estate taxes. On the other hand, if your sister doesn’t live in the home, the aunt should pay for the expenses of living there. Or, she and the aunt would have to come up with some arrangement for her use of the home or they could simply agree to sell the home.

Perhaps your sister’s husband sold his interest in the home to his aunt to avoid having to talk to or deal with your sister. He detaches himself from the home and now tells your wife to deal with his aunt.

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So, how does your sister go forward? She will have to make sure that her co-owner (the aunt) will be willing to sign the contract for the sale of the home, along with the myriad of other documents needed to convey the ownership of the home to the new buyer. Will she be willing to do that?

The next question to answer is how to split the proceeds from the sale of the home. The aunt will insist on receiving half of the proceeds. However, your sister may counter that she is entitled to be reimbursed for some level of expenses, if her husband has still been living in the home.

What we’re really wondering is why your brother-in-law transferred his share of the property to his aunt. Until your sister talks with his aunt to uncover her intentions, she won’t know what is really going on.

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The best case scenario is that the aunt is happy to work with your sister in selling the home, and will allow her to take her fair share (or more) of the proceeds. The worst case scenario is that the aunt won’t assist with the sale, won’t sign documents, and impedes your sister’s ability to sell the home while making demands on her as a half-owner of the home.

Depending on which way this goes, your sister might want to consult with a real estate attorney to guide her and provide assistance in getting the home sold.