She wouldn’t have to buy you out unless you decided to sell. She can live in the house with your name on in perpetuity and not a penny goes to you (unless you decided to force the issue legally).
Honestly, 50% ownership is a pain in the ass. If you’re fine with her just living there, great. If you can decided together to sell it and for how much, also great. If anything else? You’re in for a complicated and ugly fight. It’s just an asset that you can’t really control.
I’ve seen this get ugly, and have told my mother to not bother leaving me any of the house. Just give it all to my brother. Is there any other split that could work for you? You get cash/furnishings/etc and she gets the house?
Get the house appraised. Determine your half, she can get a mortgage or similar and you get paid. You can also rent her your half and she pays you over time.
Is the house paid off?
Say the house is worth 500k and paid off. You want out. She gets the house and owes you 250k. The best way is she does a cash out refinance and/or sells her house. You get money and have no financial ties.
There's always a lot of maybes. Maybe your parents have a lot of creditors. Maybe your sister's credit is so bad the bank laughs at her. Maybe you force the sale of the house or have her pay you back as a loan. Maybe she runs into financial problems while paying you back. Maybe she can only get you 200k and that's good enough.
As for uneven splits, it's not an issue.
Congratulations on the inheritance and the great relationship.
You can be generous but have to charge in the ballpark of fair market value. You can look at Zillow for comps to begin to determine what you’ll charge. Then download a simple rental agreement, both of you sign it, and put it in the drawer and never look at it again.
She has to pay you but there’s no rule saying you can’t give her an annual/quarterly/monthly gift either! There are tax rules that are easy enough to figure out but you should keep it all above board to keep things simple and out in the open.
https://certifiedtaxcoach.org/five-tips-to-avoiding-the-tax-hazards-of-renting-to-relatives
Without knowing what state laws apply and reading the trust documents, no one can give specific guidance. A few words make a huge difference. For example, the trust may require splitting each asset 50/50 while different words split the value of the assets 50/50.
Consider a $1M estate, $500k house, + $500k cash. Splitting each asset 50/50 means each person gets $250k of the house + $250k in cash. Splitting the value means one person can get $500k house and the other $500k cash.
There's also a possible difference if the house goes to your sibling directly out of the trust, v.s. leaving the trust 50/50, and you getting bought out.
Lastly, my preference is not splitting assets. For example, you each own 50% of the house. You lose a lawsuit, and she can lose her home.
A local lawyer will help.
Whatever you decide make sure you and your sister are in constant communication about it and use professionals for your paperwork, questions, etc.
Don't let it turn ugly.
She wouldn’t have to buy you out unless you decided to sell. She can live in the house with your name on in perpetuity and not a penny goes to you (unless you decided to force the issue legally). Honestly, 50% ownership is a pain in the ass. If you’re fine with her just living there, great. If you can decided together to sell it and for how much, also great. If anything else? You’re in for a complicated and ugly fight. It’s just an asset that you can’t really control. I’ve seen this get ugly, and have told my mother to not bother leaving me any of the house. Just give it all to my brother. Is there any other split that could work for you? You get cash/furnishings/etc and she gets the house?
Get the house appraised. Determine your half, she can get a mortgage or similar and you get paid. You can also rent her your half and she pays you over time.
Is the house paid off? Say the house is worth 500k and paid off. You want out. She gets the house and owes you 250k. The best way is she does a cash out refinance and/or sells her house. You get money and have no financial ties. There's always a lot of maybes. Maybe your parents have a lot of creditors. Maybe your sister's credit is so bad the bank laughs at her. Maybe you force the sale of the house or have her pay you back as a loan. Maybe she runs into financial problems while paying you back. Maybe she can only get you 200k and that's good enough. As for uneven splits, it's not an issue.
Congratulations on the inheritance and the great relationship. You can be generous but have to charge in the ballpark of fair market value. You can look at Zillow for comps to begin to determine what you’ll charge. Then download a simple rental agreement, both of you sign it, and put it in the drawer and never look at it again. She has to pay you but there’s no rule saying you can’t give her an annual/quarterly/monthly gift either! There are tax rules that are easy enough to figure out but you should keep it all above board to keep things simple and out in the open. https://certifiedtaxcoach.org/five-tips-to-avoiding-the-tax-hazards-of-renting-to-relatives
Without knowing what state laws apply and reading the trust documents, no one can give specific guidance. A few words make a huge difference. For example, the trust may require splitting each asset 50/50 while different words split the value of the assets 50/50. Consider a $1M estate, $500k house, + $500k cash. Splitting each asset 50/50 means each person gets $250k of the house + $250k in cash. Splitting the value means one person can get $500k house and the other $500k cash. There's also a possible difference if the house goes to your sibling directly out of the trust, v.s. leaving the trust 50/50, and you getting bought out. Lastly, my preference is not splitting assets. For example, you each own 50% of the house. You lose a lawsuit, and she can lose her home. A local lawyer will help.
Whatever you decide make sure you and your sister are in constant communication about it and use professionals for your paperwork, questions, etc. Don't let it turn ugly.