Strange question

California

Dad recently passed. Mom predeceased him. His daughter was POA/MPOA until he died. The will names her as Executor (though it has not yet been submitted to the court). All personal property (vehicles, antiques, jewelry, household, etc) goes to the Executor to divide according to dad's wishes, which are not in writing. The residue is to be divided equally amongst his beneficiaries.

Dad specifically stated to each of us that everything would be divided equally. Instead, she has started taking what she wants and gifting other things to people who are not listed as beneficiaries...only the valuables, of course. She is willing to let the rest of us sift through the junk when she is done. Is there a legal remedy? All anyone wants in their fair share. If things continue at this pace, there will be nothing left to divide when probate finally opens.

what relation are you to "his daughter"?. Since you speak of "dad" and since this concerns "his daughter" it would seem that you are her sister.

daughter is not exec until the court appoints her exec.

Dad specifically stated to each of us that everything would be divided equally.

Click to expand...

what dad said doesn't mean anything. It is what he wrote and if concerning something not covered by his writings, then by the laws of intestate succession.

what does the will direct?

justalayman said:

what relation are you to "his daughter"?. Since you speak of "dad" and since this concerns "his daughter" it would seem that you are her sister.

Click to expand...

Sister. Sorry. I did not want to say sister and imply that she was his sister or my aunt.

daughter is not exec until the court appoints her exec.

Click to expand...

I know that, but it hasn't prevented her from helping herself to everything on the basis that it will all become her's when the will is finally submitted.

what dad said doesn't mean anything. It is what he wrote and if concerning something not covered by his writings, then by the laws of intestate succession. what does the will direct?

Click to expand...

The will directs all of his personal property to go to the Executor, to divide according to his wishes (which were not put in writing.) The residue is to be divided equally amongst his beneficiaries.

My contention is that he did not gift everything to my sister, by name, to keep or dispose of as she sees fit. He gave it to the "Executor" to distribute according to his wishes. She contends that he gave it to her, because she is the Executor, therefore it all belongs to her and we should be happy with what we get...if anything.

I just want clarification. Is there some legal requirement that the Executor act in good faith or not unfairly benefit? It is frustrating to see family heirlooms being given to people who are not beneficiaries when the beneficiaries haven't received anything at all.

I know that, but it hasn't prevented her from helping herself to everything on the basis that it will all become her's when the will is finally submitted.

Click to expand...

until she is appointed exec, her taking from the estate is illegal. Depending on how serious you want to get, there are actions available including you opening probate and applying to be exec. She can then submit the will and seek to be named exec per the will's direction. You can argue her actions have shown her intent as exec is to personally benefit from the position. The court will decide who is named exec.



as well, you can contest her actions if you believe they are contrary to the intent of the will.

so, how much money is everybody willing to spend over this?

The will directs all of his personal property to go to the Executor, to divide according to his wishes (which were not put in writing.) The residue is to be divided equally amongst his beneficiaries.

Click to expand...

well, there you have a problem. Since "his wishes" were not in writing, it is going to be a hard battle to claim anything contrary to what the exec decides. She can claim just about anything and claim it was per his wishes.

My contention is that he did not gift everything to my sister, by name, to keep or dispose of as she sees fit. He gave it to the "Executor" to distribute according to his wishes. She contends that he gave it to her, because she is the Executor, therefore it all belongs to her and we should be happy with what we get...if anything.

Click to expand...

well, a will is his legal expression of his wishes and it is what counts. Without anything other than the will to control, how can you argue it wasn't his wishes.

I just want clarification. Is there some legal requirement that the Executor act in good faith or not unfairly benefit?

Click to expand...

unfairly is a subjective determination. I bet if you ask sis, she will say it isn't unfair.

It is frustrating to see family heirlooms being given to people who are not beneficiaries when the beneficiaries haven't received anything at all.

Click to expand...

I suspect the best you are going to do is contest the will and have it ruled too vague to be enforced. If you do that, the laws of intestate succession come into play and they deal with financial value of the estate and not the personal value of anything. As such, the exec can simply sell everything and distribute the money per the laws requirements.

Lawriter - ORC - Chapter 2107: WILLS

justalayman said:

Lawriter - ORC - Chapter 2107: WILLS

Click to expand...

I think that you took a wrong turn around Kansas City.

California

Dad recently passed.

Click to expand...

until she is appointed exec, her taking from the estate is illegal. Depending on how serious you want to get, there are actions available including you opening probate and applying to be exec. She can then submit the will and seek to be named exec per the will's direction. You can argue her actions have shown her intent as exec is to personally benefit from the position. The court will decide who is named exec.

Click to expand...

Thank you. It is definitely her intention to personally benefit. I just needed to know if her illegal actions are sufficient to have her removed as Exec.

well, there you have a problem. Since "his wishes" were not in writing, it is going to be a hard battle to claim anything contrary to what the exec decides. She can claim just about anything and claim it was per his wishes.

Click to expand...

Sadly, the only proof that we could provide would be a parade of 10-20 witnesses who heard dad state that he wanted everything divided equally. Since he did not see fit to put it in writing, he may as well have remained silent on the matter.

My contention is that he did not gift everything to my sister, by name, to keep or dispose of as she sees fit. He gave it to the "Executor" to distribute according to his wishes. She contends that he gave it to her, because she is the Executor, therefore it all belongs to her and we should be happy with what we get...if anything.

Click to expand...

a will is his legal expression of his wishes and it is what counts. Without anything other than the will to control, how can you argue it wasn't his wishes.

Click to expand...

That wasn't my point. If everything were given to her, by name, then it would belong to her regardless of who handles the estate. It was not. It was given to the Executor to distribute. That means a change in Executor would result in her getting no more than anyone else, right? That is all anyone wants. We shouldn't have to fight for a "fair and equal" division. It should be the standard unless there is something to the contrary in writing

Now I just need to know if asking to have her removed as Executor, based on her actions thus far, is sufficient to trigger the no-contest clause.

anteater said:

I think that you took a wrong turn around Kansas City.

Click to expand...

HHmm, now I'm trying to figure out it I meant to post that incorrect link or if I had it stored as a copy and paste from another thread and didn't post it there for some reason and it was stuck in my copy function.


sorry about that DEALO.

be back later with California's

Update.

To my eternal regret, I elected to respect my father's wishes and not contest my sister's appointment as Executor. As expected, she is keeping everything of value: truck, rv, boat, motorcycle, antiques, home electronics, etc. She gave a lot of things away to her friends and immediate family. The rest of us beneficiaries (all siblings) will be lucky to get personal mementos.

Since she is keeping everything that CAN be sold, the balance of Dad's bills will be taken from the sale of the house. He had no credit cards and kept all his household bills up to date. He didn't earn enough to pay income taxes and his property taxes were negligible. He had full medical insurance with gap coverage. The only bills he had are the ones my sister incurred on his behalf, before and after his death. They appear to be substantial...about 50% of the value of his house.

Adding insult to injury, we were just informed that she is not going to sell the house (the only asset that legally has to be divided.) Instead, she wants to fix it up (at our expense) and lease it "until the market improves." The rent monies collected will go towards the bills. It might make sense in other circumstances, but rent in the area is so low that after taxes, insurance, trash and water, it would take a year just to recover the initial cost of flooring, paint, window treatments, and basic repairs...all of which would be necessary to even consider the possibility of signing a lease with someone. Given the age of the house, it is reasonable to expect that additional repairs will be necessary.

I don't want to do this. I don't want to deal with a lease. I don't want to commit to repairs that may or may not prove valuable over time. I don't want to deal with this person for one minute longer than legally necessary. I just want to take my measly 14.28% from the net proceeds and get on with my life. It should be enough for a cheap vacation or a few months of therapy

So, is there anything we can do to force her to sell the house? If so, can it be done now or do we have to wait for probate to close? Is it something we can do without a lawyer? No one has the money to buy anyone out so that isn't an option. Right now, closure is very high on the list of priorities!

For what its worth, I could understand this level of animosity if my sister had taken care of Dad without any assistance from the rest of us. The opposite is actually true. She lived closest but most of us visited with him monthly. When he was diagnosed, we actually fought over who would have the privilege of taking care of him. We have always been a close family and there is nothing to justify this type of behavior except for greed, selfishness, and petty grievances. If our parents knew what she was doing in their name, they would be very ashamed.

The only bills he had are the ones my sister incurred on his behalf, before and after his death. They appear to be substantial...about 50% of the value of his house.

Click to expand...

Huh? What's the value of the house?

I suppose that the will did not explicitly say to sell the house?

How many of the other five beneficiaries agree with you about the disposition of the house?

I would suggest that you petition the probate court to order that the executor sell the house.

In theory, you can act without an attorney. But, you would have a much greater chance of success if you retain one. If you can get 6 beneficiaries to split the cost...

The house is not mentioned in the will because it was purchased after the will was written.

The value of the house is about $75k. There is no mortgage. If all the bills were paid, after taxes and fees, we would each get between $3k and $5k. It isn't much but times are tough and something is better than nothing.

Six of the seven beneficiaries would prefer the house be sold rather than rented. No one wants to wait years in the hopes that it might double, especially if it means they will get nothing in the interim.

If we wrote and notarized a letter, stating our wish to have the house sold as soon as possible, would it carry any weight with a judge or whoever is in charge? I can't imagine that it is common for so many beneficiaries to be of a single mind on an issue. If we can do it without a lawyer, that would be ideal.

DEALO said:

The value of the house is about $75k. There is no mortgage. If all the bills were paid, after taxes and fees, we would each get between $3k and $5k. It isn't much but times are tough and something is better than nothing.

Click to expand...

OK. I thought that you were implying that some or all of the expenses incurred by your sister on "Dad's behalf" were unreasonable and/or suspicious.

If we wrote and notarized a letter, stating our wish to have the house sold as soon as possible, would it carry any weight with a judge or whoever is in charge?

Click to expand...

I'm afraid that a letter will not get you anywhere. Courts have processes for such things.

If you have not done it already, you might try a letter to sister signed by the other six beneficiaries. Something along the lines of: "We wish to see the property sold as soon as possible. If you do not, we are prepared to petition the court..."

If that does not budge sister and you still do not wish to retain an attorney, you could try contacting the court clerk. I don't know California procedure. You might simply be told that the court cannot give you legal advice and to retain an attorney. But, the clerk might give you info on the process for petitioning the court. Maybe...

Some of the expenses are unreasonable and/or suspicious, but that is a different story

It sounds like sis might be in a position to buy you out of your share, since it's a relatively small amount of money. You could give her that option as well in your letter.