E243 Heir Won’t Leave the House

<p>When one of the heirs won’t leave the family home, what can you do? It’s a pretty common situation. For example, mom passes away leaving three adult children. One adult son was living with her when she passed away, and he doesn’t want to leave.</p> <h2>Why heir won’t leave</h2> <p><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-27580" src= "https://anthonyspark.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Why-heir-wont-leave-300x169.jpg" alt="Why heir won’t leave" width="300" height="169" /></p> <p>The top reason is pretty straightforward: it’s like having free or reduced rent. Sometimes there’s the feeling of entitlement. As in, “I was the one taking care of mom during her last years, so what’s the big deal if I stay in the house?”</p> <p>Then, there’s that litany of “dog ate my homework” type of excuses: I have an injury and can’t move right now; I don’t want to move my kids in the middle of the school year; I’m too busy to deal with a move, etc. We’re not saying these excuses are justifiable, we’re just saying that we’ve heard it all!</p> <h2>Can you evict an heir?</h2> <p>The short answer is yes, but it is an uphill battle. Evictions generally tough. You deal with notice requirements, assumptions that tenants have rights, extensions, etc. It could take many months to years to evict a tenant in a normal situation. Add to that, the complication that the heir is partial owner. In our example where mom passed away with three surviving children, that adult son is still an heir to one-third of the estate, even if he leaves the home. So, now it’s psychologically more than just evicting a tenant, it’s evicting a one-third owner.</p> <p><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-27582" src= "https://anthonyspark.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Can-you-evict-an-heir-300x169.jpg" alt="Can you evict an heir?" width="300" height="169" /></p> <p>In addition to a frustrating situation, evicting your sibling is probably pretty awkward! (“Happy Thanksgiving, sister; pass the turkey. And oh, yeah - here’s your eviction notice”). A situatio