What if the heirs can't agree on selling the house?
The house can still be sold. In Florida, any co-owner can force a sale through a partition action under Chapter 64 of the Florida Statutes, and no single heir can hold the others hostage indefinitely. But partition is a lawsuit between family members, it takes 6 to 18 months, and the court costs come off the top. The faster path, and the one that keeps the family on speaking terms, is a buyer who purchases each heir's share separately, so the ones who want out can leave and the one who wants to stay can stay.
Why this happens
A parent dies and leaves the house to three children equally. One lives in it and does not want to move. One lives in Georgia and wants the money. The third has not returned a call in two years. Nobody can list the house, because a listing needs every owner's signature. Nobody can refinance it. The taxes are coming out of one sibling's pocket. And the longer it sits, the more it is worth to nobody.
We see this in Brevard County constantly, often a generation deeper: the parent never probated the grandparent, so it is six cousins instead of three siblings.
What each heir can and cannot do alone
Can do: Sell their own fractional share to anyone, at any price. Occupy the house (every co-owner has an equal right to possession). Pay the taxes and insurance and later claim reimbursement from the others. File for partition.
Cannot do: Sell the whole house. Evict a co-owner who also holds title. Charge rent to a co-owner who lives there, unless that co-owner has excluded the others. Force the others to pay their share of expenses without a court order or a sale.
That first item is the one most heirs do not know: you can sell your share by itself. It is worth less than a proportional slice of the whole house, because the buyer inherits the family dispute, but it is a real exit.
Partition in Florida, and the 2020 Heirs Property Act
A partition action asks a Brevard circuit judge to divide the property. Houses cannot be physically split, so the court orders a sale and divides the money by ownership share, after reimbursing whoever paid taxes, insurance and necessary repairs.
Since 2020, Florida's Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act (Fla. Stat. 64.201 to 64.221) adds protections when the property came through inheritance and the owners are relatives:
- The court orders an appraisal first.
- Any co-owner who did not request the sale gets 45 days to buy out the shares of those who did, at the appraised value.
- If nobody buys out, the court must try an open market sale with a broker before resorting to an auction.
- The court weighs sentimental attachment and whether an heir lives there.
Those protections are good for the heir who wants to keep the house, and they make the process slower for the heirs who want out. A contested partition in Brevard, with the appraisal, the buyout window and the listing period, runs a year or more, with attorney fees typically $7,500 to $20,000 taken from the sale.
The faster way: sell the shares, not the house
When MGO buys an inherited house with disagreeing heirs, we do not need everyone to say yes at the same time. We can:
- Buy the shares of the heirs who want to sell, at a price they agree to, and pay them now.
- Become a co-owner alongside the heir who wants to stay.
- Then work out with that heir whether they buy us out over time, we buy them out, or the house is sold with their cooperation.
The heirs who wanted out are done in weeks instead of a year. The heir who wanted to stay deals with a business, not a sibling. And if it still ends in partition, we file it, pay for it, and the family's share of the fees is zero.
Divorce is the same problem with two people
A divorce decree says the house will be sold and the proceeds split, but one spouse will not cooperate, or the deed was never changed and the ex has vanished. The tools are the same: partition under Chapter 64, or a buyer who purchases one spouse's interest and then deals with the other. We handle both. See selling a house in a divorce in Brevard County.
What it looks like in Brevard County
A typical case: a house in Melbourne, mother passed in 2022, four children. The youngest had moved in to care for her and stayed. The other three wanted it sold; the youngest would not list it and could not afford to buy them out. Three years of taxes paid by one sister in Orlando. Two of them had stopped speaking.
We bought the three siblings' shares in a single closing. They were paid and finished. We then sat down with the brother in the house, who had been afraid of being thrown out, and agreed on a lease with an option for him to buy the house back over time at a set price. No lawsuit, no sheriff, and the family dispute ended because the house was no longer the thing they were fighting over.
What you need to have ready
- Who the owner was and whether probate was ever opened (Brevard Clerk, Viera)
- The names of all the heirs and roughly where they are
- Who is living in the house, and who has been paying the bills
- Whether anyone has already hired a lawyer
That is enough for us to tell you whether we can buy your share, what it is worth, and what happens next.
Frequently asked questions
Can one heir force the sale of inherited property in Florida? Yes, through a partition action under Florida Statutes Chapter 64. The court orders the house sold and the proceeds divided. For inherited property between relatives, the Heirs Property Act gives the other heirs a chance to buy out the seller first at appraised value.
Can I sell my share of an inherited house without the other heirs? Yes. A co-owner can sell their fractional interest without anyone else's consent. The buyer becomes a co-owner with the remaining heirs. The share sells for less than its proportional value because the buyer takes on the dispute.
Who pays the property taxes on an inherited house with multiple heirs? All heirs are responsible in proportion to their shares. In practice one heir usually pays, and that heir is entitled to be reimbursed from the other shares when the house is sold or partitioned.
How long does a partition action take in Florida? Six to eighteen months in Brevard County depending on whether it is contested, whether the Heirs Property Act applies (adding an appraisal and buyout period), and the court's calendar.
Can an heir living in the house be forced to leave? Not by the other heirs directly, since every co-owner has a right to occupy. A partition sale ends that right. Buying out the other heirs, or selling to a buyer who negotiates with the occupant, usually avoids the eviction entirely.
How MGO handles heirs who disagree
We buy fractional interests in inherited houses across Brevard and Palm Beach Counties, one heir at a time if needed, and we handle the probate, the partition and the negotiation with the heir who stays. Nobody in the family pays a lawyer, and the ones who want out are paid in weeks.
Call or text (561) 295-9202 or send the address through the form.