The answer to your question depends on some specifics that you do not provide, but here are the basics: assuming one of your parents survived the other and then owned the house entirely when he or she died, that parent's Will controls what happens with the house. If the Will states that the house is to be sold, it must be sold unless all five siblings agree to not sell. It the Will just gives the house equally to all five children, then the five children can decide to keep it. But if all fiv siblings do not agree to keep the house, then it must be sold.
The administrator of the estate has a responsibility to all of the beneficiaries, who it seems are just your five siblings. This duty includes collecting rent if someone is living in the house, unless all siblings agree not to, and selling the house for fair market value to maximize each sibling's distribution of estate assets. If your sibling who is administering the estate is not doing this, you can get the probate court involved to help. The court can supervise the administration of the estate, which means the court must approve all actions including the purchase price of the house, or you can seek to remove your sibling and replace her or him. It is usually better for relationships to try to agree rather than to go to court. Perhaps your sibling administering the estate would agree to some assistance in selling the house, or all five of you could schedule a mediation to try to come to an agreement. It's tough to get five people to agree, but a mediator with some knowledge of probate law can be really helpful. Good luck.
Answered on Feb 02nd, 2017 at 5:08 AM