Brother selling off belongings at funeral

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

At my friend's funeral this morning, I was approached by his brother who wanted to know if I wanted to buy my friend's mineral collection, which is quite valuable.

I was shocked (and somewhat grossed out) that the guy would bring this up at a funeral, but politely thanked him for and turned down the offer to purchase the collection.

Another collector did express interest, but asked if brother was sure he could sell the collection before the will was probated. Friend's sister is executrix of the will, and said it would be okay for the brother to go ahead and sell the collection, as long as it was for cash only.

The brother is in a real hurry to sell off the entire collection, as well as other valuable items (car, boat, etc..). He sold the car on EBay within 24 hours of his brother's death.

The guy who wants to buy the collection is also a friend of mine.

Could he run into any legal problems down the road if he buys the collection before the will is probated?

He is already in trouble.
Nobody is executor until appointed by the court.
How was it that he transfered title of that car?

It's premature, you are right. If there were no debts in the estate, and these two end up being the only heirs, they'll probably escape too much, but otherwise they could be in big doodoo and if the purchaser can't get that car titled, that could also cause trouble.

Thanks

Not sure how they were able to transfer the title since it was still in the name of my deceased friend. I do know that it is paid for and gone from the house, and the brother is bragging about how quickly he was able to sell it. There's a rumor that he back dated the bill of sale and forged his brother's signature, but it's just a rumor.

I convinced my friend to walk away from the collection, at least for the time being. We live in a small town, and this type of news will travel fast, since the brother was trying to hawk the belongings to several people, including the daughter of a District Court Judge, while standing in front of the casket.

He is now trying to sell the collection for a tiny fraction of its value to a dealer.

Apparently the siblings have addiction issues, and I would rather just remember my friend fondly without this ugly mess. I'm not going to get even remotely involved with any aspect of it, and have told all who've asked that I don't even want to talk about it.

Thanks again for the advice.

...things would be different if this were a trust...