Martha Says

King Solomon’s House

Dear Martha,

I am an unmarried, 4^th generation island visitor, and I now live full time in my ancestral island home.  My family has come down a bit in the world (I am a landscaper) and this house is my only major asset.  I would guess it’s worth $650,000. I have 4 kids from 2 different marriages, ranging in age from 12 to 32.  Their various professions are student, union carpenter, guest of the Nevada Penal System, and successful business owner, so you can see they are a diverse group.  I am determined to keep this home in my family.  What should I do?

Flummoxed

Dear Flummoxed,

Did you ever notice how sentences like “Billy Bob shot his brother Billy Joe then killed his other brother Billy Ray with a pitchfork” are usually preceded by sentences like “Granny Smith left the family homestead to her three boys?” 

You could leave the house to only one of your kids, in fact; I know of a property where that happened.  Ricky Rich’s parents selected him to inherit their beautiful ancestral summer home with his wife, Millie.  They had two kids.  Millie died.  Ricky Rich then married Silly.  Ricky Rich died.  Silly sold the house to an advice columnist for the MV Times, and Ricky Rich’s kids received neither the use of the house nor the money. 

There is only one solution.  Order that the house be sold upon your death with a first right of refusal for family members.  An heir who is willing and able to assume the expense may buy it from the other heirs.  Two, three, or all four heirs may decide to buy it together.  But this situation will force them to consider the sacrifices such an enterprise requires, and they will hopefully enter into an agreement whereby everyone remains, if not friends, then alive.

Martha