We Inherited My Mother-in-Law’s House. My Husband Wants to Pretend It Doesn’t Exist.

My mother-in-law passed away six months ago after serious medical issues that ended with her in the hospital, rehab, and then finally a nursing home for almost a year before her death. Her home and the contents therein, which is on our property, are now in our possession. I have been almost solely responsible for going through and cleaning out the contents, however, there is still quite a bit left.

Here lies the problem. The house we currently live in is considerably smaller, older, and in much rougher shape than my MIL’s house. I am ready to move, but my husband keeps coming up with every excuse he can to put it off including claiming a smell in there that makes him sick, doesn’t like where it sits, etc., and becomes quite angry when questioned about getting on with the move. He also wants to hang on to everything left in MIL’s house, which means that even if we did move into it, it wouldn’t feel like ours (her decor is not my taste) and it leaves little space at the moment for our stuff.  Let me be clear that I am not suggesting getting rid of all her stuff, but we can’t keep it all.

I am at my wit’s end because the condition of our current home is critical (1930s construction including bad wiring, holes in the floor, crumbling foundation, and mold in the basement). By the way, we tried trading MIL’s house in, but got nowhere due to a ridiculously low appraisal. I have suggested trying to sell it privately and again got an angry response. I understand he’s hurting over the loss of his mother, but do you have any suggestions on how to deal with this issue?

—Confused and Ready to Move

https://slate.com/advice/2024/07/inherited-house-mother-in-law-husband-personal-finance-advice.html