Just over two years ago my parents sold their home to help my sister "Laurie" and her common-law husband "Dan" to purchase a new home. My parents agreed to put the entire amount from the sale of their home as a down payment towards the new house only if my parents were allowed to live in the basement suite and not have to contribute to the mortgage, and they would also have to help pay for half of all the utilities. Laurie and Dan verbally agreed. But none of this agreement was put in writing. Laurie does not work, so the responsibilty of the entire mortgage, bills and groceries rested on Dan. They entered a joint tenancy, so all four of their names are on the title.
Here is the dilemma…
Laurie and Dan are now separating, but are still residing in the home because neither of them want to leave. They are in separate rooms. However the very, very sad part of this whole situation is, both my parents were diagnosed with cancer a year ago. Our father just had surgery to remove a brain tumor and is presently going through radiation treatment. And our mother is in the hospital with terminal stage 4 breast cancer we were told she won’t be expected to live past 6 months. Dan knows ALL of this, and although we have been told by many different people not to worry that there are many different options out of this. Without notice, Dan went ahead
and hired a lawyer who went to Supreme Court to order the sale of the home!
So now my father is racing around to get the home re-financed, he is working very late nights and weekends just so they can afford a lawyer, Dan stopped paying for his half of the utilities because they are all in my father’s name so now my father is paying for the utilities they use upstairs as well as his own, and Dan also stopped buying groceries so Laurie and their six year old has been relying on my father for that as well!! He is struggling to do all this and he has cancer, and his wife is in the hospital also dying of cancer!!!
Laurie cannot even get a job because my mother will be discharged from the hospital very shortly, and she will need 24 hr palliative care. Dan has a very, very good paying job and has had no problems paying the mortgage, the utilities and all of their groceries. But now that Laurie wants to separate he has completely cut her off financially. Knowing full well that she has no means of income!! Also, they’ve only been living in that home for two years, the home has no equity, so selling the home would be pointless because he would not get anything from it…he was told this by his lawyer.. yet, he still wants to continue with the sale of the home. He is a control freak that suffers from OCD, and that is mainly the reason why Laurie has decided to leave him. But he is trying to make it as difficult as possible it seems!!
Ideally, Laurie and my parents would love to remain in the home. Our parents put their entire nesting into the down payment to purchase the home, and my father is too old to continue paying another mortgage for the next 15-20 years. My mother is at death’s door and will be released from the hospital in a week to come home to die… yet, Dan is not giving them any other choice but to sell??? How can he do this?? Is this legal?? Have he no heart??
Dan claims that selling the home is his only option out of the mortgage. But my father’s lawyer told them of a few other options:
A) Dan could move out and let my father "assume the loan". It is not done often, but some banks allow it
B) Dan can sever the joint tenancy and accept a "buy out"
C) or Dan can continue paying the mortgage and my dad and Laurie would remain in the home as "tenants"
When Laurie approached him with the other options he refused to even listen to her!! My question is: What other purpose does Dan have for selling the home other than pure revenge that my sister wants to leave him?? And are there any other options that my father and his lawyer may not know about?? PLEASE ADVISE!!! Any information would be an incredible help… Thank you!!!!!