Question Regarding Potential Squatters' Rights in MA

My mother owns her house outright in Massachusetts and recently amended her will. When she passes, the proceeds from selling the house are to be split 50/50 between me and my sister. My sister, who is in her mid-30s, currently lives in the house with her husband and two children, paying a monthly ‘rent’ to my mom, though it’s significantly below market rate. She has lived there most of her life, with only a couple of short periods living elsewhere.

Here’s my concern: if my mother passes away, and my sister refuses to leave or sell the house, could she claim any kind of squatters’ rights or something similar to avoid having to sell the home and split the proceeds with me? Would she be legally entitled to stay because she’s lived there for so long, or would the will automatically force the sale of the property, regardless of her living situation?

If your mom passes away without going into a nursing home, you can push to sell the house to get your share. The house will go through probate. Your sister could also choose to pay you your share directly. Either way, she can stay in the house rent-free until you either force a sale or she buys you out.

If your mom doesn’t put the house in a trust soon, there’s a good chance that the inheritance will be reduced due to the state needing to be reimbursed for end-of-life care. The state looks back at financials for five years, if I remember correctly.

Your mom is setting up a situation that could lead to conflict between you and your sister. Something similar happened with my great aunt. Her three kids don’t speak to each other anymore. Most of the house’s value was lost to state reimbursements, and the child living in the house couldn’t afford to buy out their siblings and the state. At the funeral, two of the kids even got into a physical fight over the inheritance.

If my great aunt had placed the house in a trust earlier and given her daughter, who cared for her, the right to live in the house for life, the daughter wouldn’t have ended up in a group home and estranged from her brothers. The brothers blamed their sister for their mom using state resources, which ate into their inheritance, even though they barely visited. They even tried to evict their sister a week after their mom died so they could sell the house and get the money quickly, though probate stopped that.

Depending on your mother’s health, if she needs to enter a nursing home for a period of time, the state could force a sell of your mother’s assets to pay for her care.

As long as the will goes through probate properly, you can take legal action to sell the home and have her removed from the property.

If you notice your sister trying to mess with the process, it’s a good idea to hire your own lawyer before your mom passes.

Are you sure your Mom just isn’t going to will the house to your sister? If, upon your Moms death is jointly owned you probably are going to court to force the sale.