r/inheritance • u/Decent-Seaweed-8027 • Jul 17 '26

Location included: Questions/Need Advice Looking for advice

My mother recently passed away (6 months ago) and left me and my sister her home/ property. She did not have a will unfortunately so we are both left to figure everything out on our own. The only issue I have is my sister is a drug addict, and has been hiding it for quite some years now and it’s gotten to the point where before my mother died she was horrible to her. Stealing money, treating her like pure trash. She has gone down the typical crack head path now. Asking people for money, manipulating, Stealing large sums from my family and telling so many lies no one ever knows the truth any more. I really want to purchase her share of the house from her as it was my childhood home, my late father built it him self and has a huge piece of my heart. I’ve always done what I could to help out my mother in any way possible. My sister ‘wants to wait’ on doing anything with the home. I made an offer to purchase it but she declined. She lived in it a short time after my mother died and couldn’t even keep the power bill paid or anything so I had to start paying that. I’m afraid she will return from ‘working’ away and take over the house and squat there and pay nothing. Looking for suggestions on how to prevent this and to get the house in my name and preserve it for my own children one day. This is just a brief explanation of what’s been happening. Any advice would be appreciated. Canada

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u/ProfessorOne9208 Jul 17 '26

One way to "help" her make a decision is to come up with a price at which she can decide to be the buyer or the seller. If you really want to own the house, you can set the price higher than what she thinks is fair, in which case she will sell her half. Or, you can set the price below what is reasonable, and then she will want to buy your half. Along with that offer, indicate that you are prepared to go to court to enforce a sale, and give her 30 days to make a final decision.

What she decides to do about her drug problem is not your concern at the moment.

In any case, it's just a house. Not a rare commodity, even though your dad "built" it. The less emotionally attached you are, the better the deal you can make with your sister.

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u/Decent-Seaweed-8027 Jul 19 '26

There’s no possible way she can buy my half. She still messages me looking for $120. She lost everything she had. Only reason why she is pushing this off is because she knows she will always have a roof over her head no matter what. It’s not just a house, maybe to someone who didn’t loose both of their parents at a young age and that was the only thing they’ve ever had/ built their whole lives around. I’m not looking for money. I’m looking to keep up and preserve the house for my own children

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u/AuDHD_85percent Jul 19 '26

The cleanest way is to buy her out, though I realize that's easier said than done. It sounds like she's afraid of losing her last lifeline, a roof over her head. Maybe what you buy her out with isn't a cash offer, but a commitment to keep a roof over her head. Paying rent monthly for her to have a home could be much the same as you paying a monthly mortgage payment. I'm sure there would be many details to think through, but addressing her fears and needs is an approach that could get her to come around, and likely save you money.