How do I find case history where the eldest child received the house, in probate, although she never lived at our father's home, but my brother and I have lived with my parents all our lives?

My brother inherited Moms house but did not want it. I had to hire a lawyer to put it back into the estate. I know many a beneficiary who turned over their portion of their inheritance to another beneficiary. You do not have to except an inheritance.

An 'understanding' is not a will. If your parents wanted just the two of you to have the house they would have put it in writing. The house will be split between the three of you. Just because she already has a house does not mean she should forgo her inheritance. How will you manage the bills in the home now that your parents are gone? You will need to buy your sister out of the house.

"It was understood among us..." means nothing legally.

Were you and your brother unaware that your Father's remaining assets where in probate? You need to consult with an attorney.

No Will then someone needs to become an Administrator. This person does everything an Executor would do the difference, the State determines the beneficiaries. If a surviving spouse, they usually get the highest % with the children splitting whats left. If children are the only survivors, the estate is split between them.

Call your County Probate Office and ask them if anything was ever done with your parents estate.

There is no "understandings" that are recognized under the law. Don't waste your time and money trying to appeal to the courts and judges because unless you have it in writing in a legal Will or a Trust of some kind, you and your sister haven't got a leg to stand on here.

If there is no Will (and your parents really should have done one) whatever their estate is will be divided up among their immediate family heirs. A person's immediate family heirs are their spouse and children (this does not include step-children unless there was a formal adoption process. Unmarried "commonlaw" spouses are also excluded as well in most states). If someone doesn't have a spouse or children and they left no Will, their heirs become living relatives like parents, siblings, neices, nephews, cousins, etc... Since both of your parents are gone, the heirs are you and your two sisters if the three of you are the only children they had. Even children from a previous marriage or relationship are considered heirs.

Your sister the doctor has just as much right to her share of the inheritance as either one of you do. The fact that she made a good career for herself and has more than you and your other sister, does not make her any less of an heir. Your parents were her parents too.

You and your sister chose to live with mommy and daddy your whole life and now you have no place to go. That's not on your sister who made her life. That's on the two of you. You're adults find somewhere else to go.

Or you and the sister who live in mom and dad's house can sit down and have a talk with your oldest sibling. You can perhaps get her to come to an arrangement that works for everyone. Like you and your other sister perhaps buy out her share of the property so you two can remain there. She may even be agreeable to accepting monthly payments for her 1/3 share from the two of you every month like a rent or a mortgage until her fair-market value share in the property is paid off by the two of you.

Why don't you and your sister ask your oldest sister over to talk. Let me tell you something right now for your own good. Don't open the meeting with an attempted guilt-trip about how the two of you took care of your parents and she did not. Ask if you two can come to a financial arrangement with her so you both can remain living in the house.

She will not be able to legally force the sale of the house through the court if the two of you offer to buy out her share in it at fair-market value price. Though, I wouldn't pull this card out of the deck qith her unless you absolutely have to. Try negotiating a deal with her first about buying her out. Good luck to you.

If your parents died without a will, and assuming there’s nothing fancy about the deed (like a transfer – on – death), then the property (as I understand it) will follow the state rules for “intestate“ inheritance. I don’t know what state you live in—You can perhaps look them up.

I’m a little surprised that this would give the entire house to the eldest child, but maybe that’s how it works in your state. That aside, I strongly suspect that any “understanding” will not be taken into account, because it’s not part of the state law. It would have to be up to your sister to then act on that understanding and give you the house after the fact I assume. And the fact that you’re writing this suggest to me that she doesn’t in fact share that understanding.

As for the Court record, I understand that many probate records are available from the court, often online. Example, in Massachusetts there is a website “Get a copy of a probate and Family Court record “. At a minimum, if you can figure out what your case docket number is (and they should be able to tell you), they might be able to give you a printed version for a fee.

All this is based on what I’ve seen and my own preliminary research, I’m not a lawyer.