When heirs don't agree about selling the house
It's one of the most common, and most painful, parts of probate. A clear, fair process prevents most fights from ever starting.
Who decides during probate?
The personal representative has the legal power to sell estate real estate (C.R.S. 15-12-711), but owes fiduciary duties to every heir and creditor. That means acting reasonably, getting a fair price and keeping everyone informed. Heirs who believe the personal representative isn't doing that can ask the court for a formal proceeding or supervised administration.
A fair process heads off most fights
- Get a written value everyone can see. A market analysis with real comparable sales, or an appraisal.
- Put every option on the table. Sell as-is, fix and sell, cash offer, or one heir buys out the others.
- Share every offer with all heirs before accepting.
- Keep records of what was spent on the house and why.
- Bring in the estate's attorney early if anyone threatens to go to court.
One heir lives in the house
A relative living in the house can make a sale hard. The personal representative should talk with the estate's attorney about the options: a written agreement to move out by a date, rent paid to the estate, or the occupant buying the house at a fair price.
After probate: co-owners who can't agree
If the house was distributed to several heirs and they can't agree, any co-owner can file a partition case, and a court can order the house sold. It's slow, expensive and hard on families, so it's best treated as a last resort.
We're happy to meet with the whole family, in person or by video, to walk through the numbers together. Sometimes a neutral market expert in the room is all it takes.
Talk it through with a real person, free
A free, confidential 30-minute consultation. We'll look at the house, the estate's situation and what the family wants, and lay out every option, even the ones that don't involve us. English or Polish.
Prefer to pick a time? Book a free 30-minute call.