How can two (or more) people inherit the same home?

Initially, it is rewarding to learn that a loved one wants you to inherit their home. While you are still processing their loss, it can be reassuring to know that they wanted you to benefit from such a significant investment.

Inheritances such as this can also become confusing when learning that a sibling or other family member will inherit the home along with you. Regardless of your feelings toward the others, you may not want to share a property with them.

Here’s what you should know about some of your options when inheriting a home along with someone else.

Agreeing to share

One of the simplest ways to handle being one of two or more beneficiaries of a home is to agree to share it with the others. Sharing ownership of the home, however, can come with challenges. It may be difficult to divide the use of the home equally between the beneficiaries. Typically, this option works best when beneficiaries get along well, and when the home can function as a vacation home.

Buying the other(s) out

When you want to make the inherited home your primary residence or you do not want to share ownership, you can negotiate to buy out the other beneficiaries. The challenge with this option is that its success depends on the other beneficiaries being open to selling their shares at an agreeable price.

Agreeing to a sale

When beneficiaries cannot agree on an arrangement for keeping the property, it is not uncommon for beneficiaries to agree to a sale of the house. This ensures that all of the beneficiaries share the proceeds equally. While a sale may not be the ideal option for everyone, it is a straightforward way to distribute the asset when there are multiple beneficiaries.