paying for bequests?

[Peekaboo2]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? OH

Can an executor make heirs pay for bequeathed items? Background: mother recently died, left a simple will; one executor (son); five heirs total (her children). She has no debt/bills after funeral expenses (now paid) and final estate atty fees; she lived frugally and owned her home outright. She had much liquid cash at death due to inheritance from her 2nd husband who passed years ago (low six figures). Rest of her estate consists of household goods/personal effects, most found so low in value the estate appraiser didn’t bother valuing them (“yard sale value”). Most of these have only sentimental value to the heirs. Her home is in separate trust and not being probated.

We have the will, which has a basic executor appointment with no special privileges; no power of appointment. There is a short list of bequeathed items in the will, then a basic short residuary clause stating estate remainder be given to her children (listing all five) with no special instruction/s; exact language was "rest and residue of estate both real and personal" be “given, devised and bequeathed” to them. No statement of equal division or distribution. She had verbally said often she expected her children to go through her things after death and to divvy up her personal belongings leftover after bequests.

Executor (my brother) is demanding the heirs/children pay for bequeathed items that were left to them specifically in her will; they must pay appraised value upfront or otherwise it will be deducted from their inherited cash portion without consent. If an item was unappraised due to low value, he will judge and assign it a value to charge. Strangely he is NOT charging her grandchildren or family friends for their bequeathed items, we assume by reason that they don’t have any cash waiting in the estate to cover; they receive their items gratis with no trouble. Only heirs/children are made to pay. There is absolutely nothing in her will allowing or implying this should happen.

Additionally he’s announced that “residuary” items (leftover after bequests) will also be handled in the same manner, via payment to the estate via deduction from cash share. Anything not “bought” will be sold at yard sale or donated to charity for free. ie. he wants to charge my sister $2 for an old snow shovel she wanted; if she doesn't buy it it will be donated to Goodwill to a stranger for free.

We’re beside ourselves as we firmly know it’s contrary to mother’s intent and wishes. He so far has only stated he has vague “legal reasons” (no explanation) for his demands and is no longer responding to inquiries or communications from us. We're in process of obtaining legal advice.

 

[Dave1952]

Sorry to hear of your loss and the estate problems. You've got 2 separate issues.
First the executor wishes to sell the heirs items that have been specifically bequeathed to them. Bequeath does not mean sell. Do not pay for these items and have your lawyer (there are 4 of you to pay a lawyer) show up when the will is probated.
Second the heirs wish to raid the estate of it's property. I'm a great believer in keepsake items. Does your sister need a snow shovel or is this an important heirloom that will be cherished for generations by your sister's family? If it's just a snow shovel for utilitarian purposes then she should buy it. The heirs should not show up with U-Hauls and try to carry off whatever fits. It's good that the executor is protecting the estate.
You mention a lawyer has helped the executor. Perhaps a letter to this lawyer about the bequests may help.

 

[Peekaboo2]

Thanks Dave much appreciated. Pretty much have been told same re bequests, they’re gifts and should not be paid for. We’ll work on this with the attorney.

Re remainder: it’s mostly personal items like figurines, her clothes, dishes family photos and furniture with little street value – keepsakes, as you term. It’s not the price so much that offends – we’re obviously supposed to get much cash once everything’s settled. Its principle: he’s turning our mother’s life into a thrift shop. And making arbitrary decisions about what to charge with no justification.

All heirs have their furnished homes so don’t need much – but some old furniture originally belonged to grandparents and has high sentimental value. Of course some of us want it. No one is bringing a U-Haul; but if the heirs are bequeathed her “real and personal property” how is it “raiding” to distribute her belongings ? (total appraisal of her personal property was less than 3% of the estate total – that’s how little it factors overall. Would it be viewed as “raiding” if these items went to heirs for free?) Particularly if it ends up with strangers for free via charity. And that’s where it will end up, unless executor gathers enough energy to hold a yard or estate sale for small gain. I was under impression executors aren’t supposed to “waste” assets. (Note: I have no trouble with eventually donating her things for others to enjoy/use, just only after her heirs have been able to take what they wish to have)

So two addendum questions: 1) can executor be stopped from donating her personal belongings before heirs have a chance to go through them? I can’t see how it’s not “wasting” to give her things to strangers for free before her heirs.

question 2) how can her assign his own value for us to “buy” – how does he justify the price and what’s to stop gauging? Where would it stop. It’s been suggested to me if we pay for one item, it sets precedent and everyone will have to pay for every small item at an increasing cost, and will cause delays if someone feels they’ve been over-charged.

 

[anteater]

Are your 3 other siblings agreed that you will not put up with this nonsense? In other words, do you stand together?

Since you say that brother is no longer communicating, I suggest the 4 of you retain an attorney, who can then drop-kick your brother's rear end through the halls of justice.

 

[latigo]

Are your 3 other siblings agreed that you will not put up with this nonsense? In other words, do you stand together?

Since you say that brother is no longer communicating, I suggest the 4 of you retain an attorney, who can then drop-kick your brother's rear end through the halls of justice.

The place kick image is intriguing, Aardvark! The headlines more so.

"ATTORNEY 3. EXECUTOR (missing posterior) 0."

 

[Dave1952]

The executor is not supposed to give the estate away. He's supposed to hand out the specific bequests and then sell off the rest so that there's lots of money to divvy up. What's the justification for donating part of the estate to charity? Does this improve the taxes? Or are you feuding with the executor and he's threatening retribution?
As for assigning value to the bits of the remainder estate, I suspect that the marketplace will decide the price. He could hire an auctioneer. He could put things on CraigsList. So,
you need a sofa and there's a sofa at Mom's house. Why should it be free to you? Why not offer it for sale? If you don't like the price then do not buy it. By taking the sofa for free you are screwing over the other heirs.

 

[anteater]

The executor is not supposed to give the estate away. He's supposed to hand out the specific bequests and then sell off the rest so that there's lots of money to divvy up. What's the justification for donating part of the estate to charity? Does this improve the taxes? Or are you feuding with the executor and he's threatening retribution?
As for assigning value to the bits of the remainder estate, I suspect that the marketplace will decide the price. He could hire an auctioneer. He could put things on CraigsList. So,
you need a sofa and there's a sofa at Mom's house. Why should it be free to you? Why not offer it for sale? If you don't like the price then do not buy it. By taking the sofa for free you are screwing over the other heirs.

Look at the first post. The residuary goes to the kids. It doesn't say, "sell everything else."

... a basic short residuary clause stating estate remainder be given to her children (listing all five) with no special instruction/s; exact language was "rest and residue of estate both real and personal" be “given, devised and bequeathed” to them.

Granted, divvying up tangible personal property sometimes presents complications. But, with some goodwill on all parts, they can be overcome - think an auction with Monopoly money (which, actually is what I first thought this was about rather than real $$$$'s). With whatever is not wanted sold or donated.

 

[Peekaboo2]

you need a sofa and there's a sofa at Mom's house. Why should it be free to you? Why not offer it for sale? If you don't like the price then do not buy it. By taking the sofa for free you are screwing over the other heirs.

Let's not say sofa (we all have our own) but my grandmother's old broken hutch which should stay in family. If all heirs (except one) agree that I should have it. And if another sibling wishes to have a small end table and we all sign off on him having it. This is our exact scenario, I'm seriously asking if this is ok or if its required that executors sell to strangers - and at likely a smaller amount than what he'd "charge" us the heirs.

Four of the five (guess who is the dissenter) are fine with signing off waivers to let anyone take an item for free, if we all agree. And if more than one sib wants an item, a objective method such as drawing straws is ok by us.

The point is to keep them in the family. The real fear is that "market" price (set by executor, not the market) would be sky high as to gauge us. He's already trying to make us buy our bequests.

Addendum question 3: knowing that part of executor duty is to "retain estate value", to what extent does this extend? Putting a handful of extra dollars in the estate to be distributed later; or having the actual items themselves in our possession due to personal attachment as they were our mothers. Does the executor have absolute power to liquefy whatever he/she wants if there's no debt, simply to enhance the cash estate portion.

Another way of phrasing: is cash always legally privileged over real items in residuary estate, if they have unmeasurable non-cash (ie sentimental or ancestral) value?

And if we agree to pay, who sets price? Do we sit out at a fake yard sale and see what's offered, then send those people off with apologies and then buy them ourselves? Because I don't see another way to determine fair value. Question 4: does the executor have full and final power to charge any price he/she deems appropriate for unappraised/low value items?

What's the justification for donating part of the estate to charity? Does this improve the taxes? Or are you feuding with the executor and he's threatening retribution?

No tax gain. Reason would be executor is too busy to travel to our mother's house to sit hours running yard sales or endlessly listing on Craigslist (no patience there). He is a fairly busy guy and said he wants to get things "settled quick" to get back to his regular schedule. As do we - only in respectful and legal manner.

No feuding (yet) as there's been little communication to feud over. Just a handful of terse emails and few responses to inquiries. As executor I don't believe he supposed to be threatening retribution, particularly as nothing's been done yet. We do have every right as heirs to query the process and challenge if needed.

 

[Peekaboo2]

Look at the first post. The residuary goes to the kids. It doesn't say, "sell everything else."

Thanks anteater. The residuary clause is very short and to the point and makes no mention of selling for cash - I know some residuary clauses do sometimes. It's not at all what she wished.

There's not even a statement of equal division or distribution of the residuary, which surprised; I wonder if she deliberately did this to allow for potential unequal portions to heirs such as some taking/receiving more belongings than the others.

The kids/heirs get the residuary, but as Dave pointed out the executor has inherent duties as well such as generally not wasting assets and retaining estate value for the heirs. And here's the question: if the majority of heirs are ok with distributing residuary physical property in a certain way they may feel fair but the executor (also an heir) has a conflicting idea and uses his executor privilege to demand his way, who wins out?

We're wondering if a challenge will be successful here. We don't want to waste our time/money on a fruitless effort.

 

[Dave1952]

If the executor does not wish to put in the effort to value and sell off the things, there are companies that do that. Then you will know the marketplace value of the hutch or whatever. Rather than valuing all of the chattels you can hire an auctioneer. Then, if you wish the hutch, bid on it. Keep bidding until you get it. There are many ways to handle an estate.
You (and the others?) are unhappy with the plans of the executor. You believe that the executor wishes to get pursue an easy path. You want an executor who spends much more time on this estate. So, why don't all of you get together, thank the executor for all of the work, and decide who should be the new executor. It's not difficult to change executors. You can hire an executor, or someone, family or friend, may do this.
As you point out the will does not specify equal shares. I think you'd be best served by hiring a pro, if the estate is large.

 

[Peekaboo2]

If the executor does not wish to put in the effort to value and sell off the things, there are companies that do that. Then you will know the marketplace value of the hutch or whatever. Rather than valuing all of the chattels you can hire an auctioneer. Then, if you wish the hutch, bid on it. Keep bidding until you get it. There are many ways to handle an estate.
You (and the others?) are unhappy with the plans of the executor. You believe that the executor wishes to get pursue an easy path. You want an executor who spends much more time on this estate. So, why don't all of you get together, thank the executor for all of the work, and decide who should be the new executor. It's not difficult to change executors. You can hire an executor, or someone, family or friend, may do this.
As you point out the will does not specify equal shares. I think you'd be best served by hiring a pro, if the estate is large.

I didn't realize it was easy to replace an executor, was under the impression it was quite difficult, esp if the current executor doesn't want to be replaced. Didn't think of broaching this with the atty but will do so, thanks. My brother is busy (owns his own business) and may be uptight about handling all the work; altho if he'd respond or let the rest of us know this we could discuss.

The appraiser who appraised the belongings also does auctions and supposedly told my bro/executor that there wasn't enough there of value for him to come in and do anything (they have a floor value to start at). After bequests there's only a few thousand $ worth of goods (98% of estate is in cash already). A friend of mine who use to run auctions suggested a tag sale/yard sale after taking out sentimental items. Which isn't unpalatable to me we'll see what the rest say.

 

[anteater]

I didn't realize it was easy to replace an executor, was under the impression it was quite difficult, esp if the current executor doesn't want to be replaced.

You are correct.