Must settle estate with heir.

What is the name of your state? Georgia

In October I stated in the atty's office that my share of an estate HAD to be "bought out" or settled (long story but lets just say I don't have a choice but to sell my share). I had voiced this more than a year ago at a "family meeting" that did not involve the atty also.

Legally, how long are they supposed to have once they've been told to settle, to begin the process of doing so? I know that in Georgia they have to settle once it's voiced, but this is taking WAY too long!

Oh, and as of yesterday, the process had not begun.

cbbjwb said:

In October I stated in the atty's office that my share of an estate HAD to be "bought out" or settled (long story but lets just say I don't have a choice but to sell my share). I had voiced this more than a year ago at a "family meeting" that did not involve the atty also.

Click to expand...

Huh? Nobody can force the others to buy you out. You will receive your share in the property and can bring a partition lawsuit to force the sale with you receiving your share of the proceeds (alternatively they can buy you out).

Ok, with that.... how long do they have to start those proceedings? They do not want anything going outside the family, so the buy out is their choice but they know I want out of it and it has to be done.

It could take a year or so.

Thank you seniorjudge, but that wasn't what I was asking... What I want to know is from the time I gave notice, how long do they have to begin the process of either dividing up the property or the buy out.

The first thing that has to be done is to find the market value of the properties. That's the estates responsibility. But this hasn't even been done. It was decided that this would be done more than a year ago, rediscussed in October and left saying notify the appraiser to begin. It is now February and NOTHING has been done yet. The appraiser hasn't even been notified to begin (this according to one of the co-executors that's just as mad as I am--there are 3 co-executors).

This is a situation where the will wasn't probated for too long as it is, and once the push came to settle from the "elders" in the family, the rest of us were ready for it. Now they are dragging their feet as if they were not the ones to bring this up, nor in a hurry to get it done.

Is there a statute or something that says they have to begin the process within a certain amount of time?

Maybe you could explain a bit more. What are you reffering to when you state they are required to "settle".

When an estate is probated, properties, as well as the rest of the estate is divided up by either a will, or if no will, then by the laws of intestate succession.

Unless one of those methods split the property a particular way, it simply becomes co-owned by the heirs with each recieving their portion in title.

If you require them to sell the property or to buy you out, you would need to file a suit to partition. You would need to initiate that action but you cannot do so until the estate is settled.

Alright... I'll try to put this in a nut shell...

When the process of putting the will into probate started, I said then that I needed my share liquidated because of certain situations with my own family--I have a disabled child and losing medical help would devastate us financially (I have to physically live on any property we own due to this medical benefit). Unfortunately, the estate in question is many rental properties and farm land in 3 different counties. Everything is divided equally in the will.

As long as the "ball is rolling" on my part being liquidated, I'm okay, but nothing seems to be happening. The elders are stalling for some reason, and I know that there has to be some kind of protection for people like me. They are the ones that initiated the liquidation, and approached my sisters and I in a huge rush two years ago to finalize everything. Now we are just sitting and waiting, ON THEM.

My husband's parents went through this a few years ago with my f-i-l's mother's estate, and I was told then that when one heir wanted their share liquidated or rather "out" of the co-ownership everyone involved had to do it by law.

I'm just trying to find out if they have 90 days, 6 months, a year or whatever to begin the process of liquidation. I've been waiting patiently for a LONG time for this... much longer than you think and quite frankly I've had enough of it and now that the will has been probated I could lose my childs medical benefits because they are dragging their feet.

There are tax deadlines, but I'm not sure that probate has deadlines in the same sense. Some probates take decades to close. That you are getting cashed out, has no significance legally in probate, it is a private agreement between you and whoever is going to give you cash for your share. If you don't think the executor is treating you fairly, see an attorney to claim he is breaching his fiduciary duty to you. Not working to close the estate in order to unfairly benefit some beneficiaries over others may be considered a breach. Not paying estate taxes in a timely manner (if any will be due) will cause interest and penalties to accrue and may be considered a breach.

See an attorney. At best it will be an expensive fight in court between you and the executor. I don't believe there is a set deadline to close the estate.

How long has the probate been going on?

The probate was only done in November BUT The only thing left to do was to run the legal ads. Everything had already been done prior to that as far as getting things ready to go.

Because the estate has been in "limbo" for a very long time, no one expects anything from the ads at all. (don't worry, all property taxes and such have been seen to, and there is no estate tax).