Building a House on His Parent's Property

Someone asked me, "I have a friend who...

is named John. When John’s father was still alive, John was able to build a house inside the lot of his father. When his father died, no will was left. Therefore, 50% of the lot belonged to John’s mother and the other 50% was split among John and his 3 brothers. Years after his father’s death, John’s brothers are talking about dividing the lot. The brothers are also claiming part of the lot where John’s house is built. John’s argument is that their father gave this part of the lot to him when he was alive; he would not have been able to built a house without the consent of his father. Can John’s brothers force John to have his house demolished in order for them to get their full share? 

My answer is John is not correct.

The methods allowed by law for transfers are Sale, Donation, and Inheritance, with express/implied trust as an exception.

In this case, no sale, donation, express trust or will was made. So John can only rely on implied trust. The time for him to assert the trust was when his father died. But he agreed to the 50/50 equal sharing arrangement. Therefore he loses his claim to implied trust by doing acts contrary to that.

The brothers own only 12.5% each. The mom owns 50%. So for the brothers to force the John to have his house demolished they must have more than 51% of the co-owners agreeing.

Even if there are 51% co-owners agreeing, the next step will be to use the right of builder in good faith. If the building is more expensive than the lot, then the builder in good faith can also exercise the right to buy the lot.

/AT