can you sell a house that is not yours?

Question

My brother in-law lived with his nan for many years, but in her will she left the house to her 2 great grandchildren. Her will was made null and void, so he then got into debt and had a charging order placed on the property. He is now homeless and selling the house to pay off the debt, and hoping for some cash back. Is this legal?

Answer 1

I'm a bit confused. If the will was made null and void then I think the hosue should have went to her next of kin whoever that was.

Answer 2

The family tree is by no means clear here, but if the will was declared null and void, then the property should pass under the old lady's intestacy and would presumably be shared equally between a number of beneficiaries, your brother in law being just one of them. He can only sell the house in his own right (as opposed to his presumed capacity as administrator of the estate) if his name is entered on the title deeds and it is hard to see how this could be the case. Are you sure that this is not a case of the house being sold for the proceeds of sale to be divided among the beneficiaries? If so, then other members of the family will be getting their share.

Answer 3

If the will was null and void, as determined by the Probate, Surrogate's, or Oprhans' Court, the brother-in-law does not have the right to sell anything unless he is the sole intestate heir.

In the absence of a will, an estate, including real estate and personal property, properly goes to the intestate heirs as determined by a state's intestate laws. In Pennsylvania, the intestate laws are found in 20 Consolidated Pennsylvania Statutes, § § 2101 through 2109.1, see link: http://members.aol.com/DKM1/20.Cp.21.html

Here is a link to a website that gives an overview of New York's intestate laws. http://www.finance.cch.com/pops/c50s10d190_NY.asp

This has California intestate law overview: http://www.finance.cch.com/pops/c50s10d190_CA.asp

Whoever is doing a title search in preparation for the sale of the property may put the whole kibosh on the matter for your brother-in-law. A purchaser is probably not going to acquire good title with his deed.

Answer 4

What happened after the will was declared null and void? Was there any litigation to determine who should get the house?

However, to answer your question, no you can't legally sell a house you don't own. That will become an issue, if he finds a buyer, and they do all the paperwork to transfer ownership.
When the title comes up in somone elses name it will sink the deal, and make his legal troubles worse.

Answer 5

You cannot sell property (that is real property, like land and houses) unless
1. You have a charge on the property in your favour (such as a mortgage company) - then you can force a sale to recoup the charge; OR

2. You can give good legal title as owner to the prospective purchaser.

In your question, I understand the charging order is in favour of the debt company, so they can (theoretically) force a sale. But your bro-in-law can only sell voluntarily if he is the lawful owner (naturally)

Answer 6

I would imagine that when the will was made null and void that the judge (or whoever) should have declared the new owner.

Unless your brother-in-laws name on the deeds then it is not his house to sell.

Answer 7

Unless when the will was made null and void, he was named as the legal heir, it is not legal.

Answer 8

It would go under intestacy rules to her children