Dear Queenie,
My father left his vacation home to me and my brother when he died. My brother needed the money, so he traded his share of the vacation home for what it was worth in cash from our father’s estate.
I have been renting out the vacation home by the week to other people who want it for their vacation. Now my brother wants to spend his vacation there next summer. If I let him use for free it I will lose the rent I could have gotten from a stranger, but my brother doesn’t want to pay because he says it’s the family’s “other home.”
Queenie, should I charge my brother for it too?—Undecided
Dear Undecided,
Your brother gave up all rights to the use of the vacation home when he traded (sold) his share for cash. It is entirely up to you to decide whether you want to charge him for using it. However, he should at least be expected to pay the utility bills for the time he spends there.