Can 1/2 of ownership of rentals hold up the sale of said rentals?

An estate that is at all complex, and of course this one is, often doesn't settle for several years. That is not unusual at all. Some executors are not even allowed by rules of the Trust to BEGIN to file for 6 months. Such was the case with my brother's estate; no distributions for 6 months. Any Trust and Estate lawyer will tell you that once the person dies (your step-dad) then the Executor of the Estate and Trustee of Trust begins his work. In the case of real estate sales there is often a big delay. I would say that you can expect, yes, likely a two year window in which you will not see the sale of this property. Much may depend upon who is the Trustee appointed at the death of the StepDad. Who is that person? Is it the stepsons? Is it you? Do you know? Or is it that your Mom has a trust of which you upon her death became Trustee, and your Step Dad has a Trust upon his death his own children Trustee? That means that upon his death the sale may need to be "forced" which would mean a judge ordering a forced sale of properties owned by two people with families at war. And yes, in any instance where there is a war over this stuff, there can be delays.
It is really very unfortunate. The step children likely feel you are sitting there waiting with baited breath for their Dad to die, and that you hate him and his children. That sounds to be close to the truth. If they feel that way, then upon his death they can makes things very difficult indeed. Your best move will be a good Trust and Estate Lawyer, and that's gonna eat up some inheritance, as well.
Too bad it is so complicated, but sounds as though it is. Would be at BEST, even if you got along, quite complicated; now may be a misery.

I went back and scanned your other posts. Seems you and Mom never had a good relationship andbyou were wondering about being disinherited. I guess you weren't? The last post you hadn't heard from the Executor, have you heard from him/her yet?

If you have inherited Moms 50% will you be receiving half the rent? Will you be responsible for half the upkeep and taxes? If so, when SD passes, then the same will go for his beneficiaries. Unless they want to be landlords, I would think that once they receive the inheritance they would want to get rid of the responsibility. Because unless SD has a lot of money that will offset, his children will be responsible to make sure taxes are paid. As well as maintainance on the buildings.

I doubt if you have received any inheritance yet. Probate takes a while. I suggest once you do, you see a lawyer, one versed in realestate, to tell you what your rights are. Maybe, you can allow SD to buy you out. Wills have been known to be changed if everyone involved is agreeable.

I'm not a real estate attorney but I don't know how a 50% owner can force the sale of property by the other 50% owner unless there is some existing legal, contractual agreement they made with each other (written) to this effect upon the death of one of the owners. And if this arrangement did happen to exist, this is still complicated and takes time, especially the way things are with covid and the disruption in the real estate market. I would personally never agree to such an arrangement -- it makes no sense and just punishes the living owner. I think "someone" does not have their facts straight.

Are you quite sure of the legalities here? It is very different if your mother owned 50% of the rentals absolutely in just her own name. If they were jointly owned, then the other party owns them absolutely after your mother’s death. If they were owned as tenants in common (or whatever name this has in the USA) then partition can be forced.

Another point with tenancy in common or outright ownership, is whether your mother’s will has given a valid life interest in them to the other party. In fact that may be the only way your assumptions can be right. Your mother’s will (especially if home-made) can’t otherwise dictate what happens after her death.

This is sufficiently complex that it is quite possible it has been misunderstood by you, your mother and your step-siblings. Get some legal advice.

I'm the original poster.

In my mother's will, she had a living will that stated that when she dies,(and in my step-dad's will) the statement was made that once my mother and her husband die, then and only then can the mutually owned rental properties will be sold. Then the tenants will be give a 30 day notice to vacate said properties. So, these properties are at present owned by my mother's trust (1/2 ownership) and my step-dad who is still alive, owns 1/2 ownership. In my mother's and step-dad's wills it states that once my step-dad dies these properties are to be then sold. The rental tenants will be given a 30 day notice to move out.

My step-brothers who are my step dad's sons were heard to have made a negative comment which was: We are going to drag out the sale of these mutually owned properties "as long as we can" so "she" (meaning me ) won't get her money for a long long time.

My questions was: Can they legally do this? I wouldn't think that they could as they would only be 1/2 owners of these rental properties (10of them) because my mother's estate owns the other 1/2 half of them.

Now do you understand?

If the documents are what you say, you won’t inherit until your step-father dies.

Where I am, a ‘living will’ is an Advanced Care Directive, and Wikipedia suggest the same thing in the USA. I stick to the suggestion of getting legal advice on the documents. Perhaps think about building some bridges with your step family.

Willie, this isn't meant to be critical, but rather to clarify.

You wrote that:

"In my mother's will, she had a living will that stated that when she dies ,(and in my step-dad's will) the statement was made that once my mother and her husband die, then and only then can the mutually owned rental properties will be sold. "

A living will is a form of end of life desires for medical care, and it could include a DNR. It has nothing to do with sale of assets.   The kind of restriction you refer to would be in a will, joint will, or in a joint trust, or in each individual trust.  

If I understand correctly, you don't have any management authority, or vested interest, willed by your mother, so are you at all involved with the management and leasing of the properties?  If not, what role do you play until your stepfather dies?

But you didn't inherit?   Your mother has died; you're apparently managing her half?   There was no deed giving you a 50% interest until your stepfather died?   And you won't inherit until your stepfather dies and the properties are sold?  

In what legal capacity are you involved with  your mother's half?  

Joint ownership could make sense in some cases, but with 2 families , it sounds as if there could be extensive complications.   Both groups of heirs have to sell, but if your stepfather's heirs don't plan to, it prevents the sale of your mother's half, and thus also prevents implementation of the conditions of their wills.    And this apparently is what they plan, to drag out the sale to prevent you from cashing out.

This nasty game could work against the boys.   Worse yet though, depending on whether or not there's any structure for maintenance, it could ruin the properties if the brothers won't agree to help keep them maintained.

Apparently you're prohibited from selling your 50% until your stepfather dies?   Again, this turns on whether you inherited anything from your mother.   That does put you in an awkward position, literally dependent on your stepfather's death and unable to even sell if you wanted to.  Is this correct?

A rough comparison is that a walk/don't walk flashing sign requires pedestrians to wait for the "walk" sign, but it doesn't work, so no one can cross the street.

It's hard for me to believe someone experienced in estate planning creating such an unwieldly situation.

I'm not sure and won't venture an opinion on whether one person who owns 50% can restrict the sale by the person who owns the other 50%.   I do think that obstinance and deliberate noncooperation could accomplish that though.  Legally, I'm not sure and won't even guess w/o reading all the relevant documentation..

What if you die before then?  Who inherits your 50% share? (I don't mean to be cruel or maudlin; I'm just trying to think through the scenarios.)

I can't even imagine that kind of condition in a lease.  I would never sign a lease with that caveat, and I don't think anyone who recognizes the possible friction would either.     Feel free to correct me if I've made assumptions that aren't consistent with the situation regarding rentals.  It's somewhat difficult to understand the situation, even though I've read your posts several times.

Another issue is whether both sides have to agree to rent to a specific tenant;    if they both sign the lease, I assume they would.  So, another question:  are you involved at all in the rentals? That's one way the boys can sabotage you.

I hope I haven't had any erroneous conclusions; this is a unique, perplexing and confusing situation.

Oh, and is it possible for you to hire a management company to handle your half so you don't have to deal with "the boys"?

Lastly, and perhaps more importantly, who exactly overheard one of the stepbrothers make the nasty comment?  Is this person reliable?

I've read and edited my response over half a dozen times, and I'm still confused, so I'm giving up for the time being.   I apologize if what I wrote doesn't make sense.

Willie, your best bet is to consult with a lawyer as members have suggested. We are not professionals just everyday people caring for someone. Each State is different in their laws. Maybe now Moms gone, stepdad should have his Will reviewed to make sure its up to date and all the Ts crossed and Is dotted. Making the Will so it can't be contested.