Hey there... I am trying to head off a potential family meltdown and hoping someone can give me some good advice. My parents personally own a piece of commercial property in Orlando FL and they also own the business that sits on top of it. They are older and have begun to put their affairs in order and have called a family meeting to explain how things will be divided among myself and 4 other siblings. My younger brother will inherit the business since he is the only one working in it and everyone agrees with that. My father also wants to give the commercial property to the same brother and that is where the wedge is starting to pull the family apart. My father's reasoning is this:

Throughout his career, he has always used the commercial property as collateral when he needed to build a building on the property or purchase a large piece of equipment. He is of the mindset that if he left the property to all 5 of the kids, a bank will not allow my brother to use it as collateral in any future upgrades to the property because of 5 people being on the title. (there is still room to build one more building and the potential to purchase the lot next door)

Is he correct, do banks not lend based on the fact that their are multiple people on title. If so, could we just put it into a land trust with the 5 of us as beneficiaries so the bank only sees one entity owning the property. Is there a way to do this so that the 5 of us can be on title and still ease his concerns?

This business and property represent the bulk of their estate and having it go to one sibling is going to tear this family apart. Any advice will be greatly appreciated. thank you