My siblings and I can't agree on selling our parents' house. What now?
Slow down before anyone lawyers up. In most stuck households I've sat with, the fight isn't really about the house — it's three people grieving at three different speeds, with a building caught in the middle.
What actually moves things: shared facts. One appraisal everyone can hold. One carrying-cost sheet showing what every month of stalemate costs the estate. A date on the calendar for the decision. If that's not enough, a mediator is a fraction of the price of a courtroom. The legal off-ramp — a partition action, where a court forces the sale — exists, and everyone loses money in it. It's the thing you mention so nobody has to use it. An attorney can map those rights; I'm not a lawyer, and this isn't legal advice.
I'm glad to be the neutral one in the room — the person with no side and one job: the same honest number, told to everyone. Just call.
I wrote this answer, and I stand behind it. I'm Chris Deutsch, a Minneapolis Realtor (MN #20382264). Twenty-five years of walking these neighborhoods, checking basements, and sitting across kitchen tables from people making exactly this call. I re-check every answer and date it — this one was last verified .
If your situation is more specific than the market, that's the one worth talking through. Email me at chris@lakesarearealty.com.