Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in California

If I have a 1/6 interest in a house ($600K with $300K mortgage) and my siblings want to buy me out, will I get $50 (600-300 = 300/6) or should I get a lesser amount ($42.5K) to factor a minority interest, as is being proposed to me.


Asked on 9/22/14, 5:08 pm

2 Answers from Attorneys

Aaron Feldman Feldman Law Group

If you force a sale of the house, then you would pay commission and title, etc... and you would receive less than $50k. I think $42.5 is a little on the low side, but I think something less than $50k is fair. 8%-10% is the usual cost for sale. Applying that rule, then $45-46k would be a better amount. You should make a counter-offer and hope that everyone is willing to be reasonable. Otherwise tell them you will file a partition action to have the property sold on the open market.

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Answered on 9/22/14, 5:14 pm

This isn't really a legal question. On paper you own $50k in equity. If you tried to sell your interest it would be worth very little on the open market because no one will want to buy into your family situation unless it's a steal. So anything between $50k and $5,000 is your negotiating range. From there, it's just a matter of how much can you get your siblings to pay and how much are you willing to accept. Whether you have a minority or majority interest is completely irrelevant to the valuation, by the way. This isn't some corporate take-over where a controlling block of shares may be worth more than the shares individually. Also, historically real estate appreciates and holds value better than most other investments. So if they are going to keep the house and cash you out, you may want to hold out for a premium unless you can flip your cash into a real estate investment.

That is not to say, however, that you don't have legal issues you need to address here. For example, how was the home valued, and have your siblings given you accurate accounting for the balance owed on the mortgage? As a majority block they have a fiduciary duty to you to provide full and honest information. Also, has the house been refinanced or is it under the original loan of the parent or other family member who passed away and left it to you and your siblings? You say you "have" a 1/6 interest in the house. Has it been distributed in fractional shares out of a probate estate or trust, or is your 1/6 interest still in probate or the trust and they are offering you cash in lieu of distributing the property ownership to you at 1/6? You really should spend a few hundred dollars to go over all this in person with an attorney.

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Answered on 9/22/14, 5:31 pm


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