In a Rush to Cut and Run? Learn to Love the House You're In.

If he did not have a will, then the laws of that state will tell you how title will be transferred. Those laws vary. In your case, many states would provide that half of the interest in the house would go to your father's wife at the time of his death. So your mom would have inherited half of the home. Likewise, many states provide that the rest of the interest in the home would go to your father's children. Thus, your mother would end up owning half of the house and your father's children would each own one-twelfth of the house (one-sixth of the half of the home that passed to you and your siblings).

If that's the case, you all will need to come up with some sort of arrangement regarding the disposition of the home and other assets your dad had.

Take a look at the document your mother has presented to you. You and your siblings will have to agree on how to handle the estate. The paperwork she is giving to you may be to your benefit and could ease the estate work necessary once she dies.

On the other hand, the document may say something entirely different from the way it is being presented to you. If you don't understand it, seek the advice of an lawyer.

Assuming that you and your siblings own half the property and you want your mother to be able to continue to live in the property, all of you should sign a document that gives her the right to stay in the house for as long as she wants.

But what happens if she dies or moves into a nursing home? Then you might want to know what to do with the house. The right sort of paperwork might avoid prolonged and agonizing decisions later. If you all agree that it should be sold at some time and you agree which one of you will have the right to decide when and how to sell it, you will have a plan to follow.

A plan, any plan, sometimes is better than no plan. If all of you need to decide, some of you may want to wait to sell, others may never want to sell and still others may want to sell now.

If you have a piece of property listed with a real estate agent and you decide you don't want to sell it before the listing period is up, do you have the right to cancel your listing and take it off the market?

If so, what happens if you sell in a few months to a family member who never saw the property while it was listed? Can the agent come back and demand money or sue you?

The real issue here is what your listing agreement says about your right to withdraw a property from the market.

You might have to review the document with a real estate lawyer to determine whether and under what conditions you have the right to cancel the agreement. If the agent has performed his or her end of the agreement, you generally would not be able to unilaterally terminate the agreement.

Most sellers never take a close look at the listing agreement the agent presents for signature before listing a property. That's unfortunate, because the listing agreement sets up the terms and conditions for the listing, including how much commission the seller will pay; how long the listing will last; whether the seller can take the property off the market; and how much, if anything, the seller will owe the broker if this occurs.