House is a sweet deal for the sibling who’s not paying his share
The information in this column is intended to provide a general understanding of the law, not as legal advice. Readers with legal problems, including those whose questions are addressed here, should consult attorneys for advice on their particular circumstances.
Q: My parents died and left their home to my brother and me. My brother has been living there all this time, as I own my own home. What are our responsibilities regarding upkeep, insurance, taxes and utilities? I’ve been paying for everything while he gets free rent.
A: You and your brother co-own the home as tenants in common. Both of you have the same right to possess and use the home.
As co-owners, both of you must pay for half of the costs associated with the upkeep, care and maintenance of the property. It is certainly not your responsibility to pay for all the expenses while your brother lives there without paying for anything.
Siblings typically would agree that one of them can live in the home as long as he or she pays for all the expenses.
Under Texas law, if your brother has been denying you the use of the home, then he would be required to pay you rent equal to the value of his use. But if he has simply been using the home without any objection from you, which appears to be the case, then he would not be required to pay you any rent.
Importantly, either of you has the right to sue to have the home sold and the proceeds divided. This right exists in addition to the right to have the home partitioned, but since a single-family home cannot be partitioned, it would need to be sold in order to provide each of you with half the value.
It would seem that you need to talk to your brother and tell him you are no longer willing to pay for him to live in the home, and you want him to start paying for all (or at least half ) of the expenses. If he balks, tell him it’s time for him to buy you out or for you both to sell the home.
As a last resort, hire an attorney to force him to sell.
Q: We are retired and in our 70s, with considerable retirement savings and equity in our home. We have a $2 million umbrella liability policy to protect our savings. You wrote recently that our assets are protected from lawsuits. Is that true? If so, we do not need the umbrella policy.
A: Retirement accounts and equity in a homestead are protected from the claims of creditors in Texas. But there are certain exceptions that might apply.
Keep in mind that each year, you must take larger and larger distributions from the retirement accounts that will end up in an unprotected account if you don’t spend all the money.
If an event triggers the umbrella policy, it would be of great benefit to be able to dispense with the problem through the extra coverage.
Talk to your insurance agent and an attorney before canceling your umbrella coverage.