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He wanted it to go to his daughter, his executor wants to sell it

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D

duckquest

Guest
ohio
I had a very close friend that has recently died in an accident. In his will he states that there is an individual list at his home that lists items and people he wants these items to go to. His brother is his executor. He listed his brother in his will to receive 20% of his estate. His brother also plans on taking what I believe is 10% executor fee. With him standing to inherant 30% I don't feel he's handling things correctly. My friend has 3 grown children that are fairly young and he seems to walk all over them. He says he couldn't find a list at the house so he says everything has to be appraised and sold. My friend had an old corvete that he bought for his wife who died in a car accident when his daughter was young. He specifically told me that thiscorvette will only belong to his daughter. He had plans on restoring it and surprizing her with it. Unfortunately I was the only one he told. His brother wants the car for himself or wants to sell it to add money to the estate for his profit. Is there anything that can be done to grant my friends wishes and put this corvette where it belongs...with his daughter? Could I maybe sign an affidavit that would stand up in a court?
 


A

advisor10

Guest
AUG. 27, 2001

DEAR DUCKQUEST:

Thank you for being concerned about this possibly dishonest executor brother, but there may not be much that can be done.

Unfortunately, it was poor planning on your close friend's part to leave the list somewhere around the house. He should have attached it to his will and/or given copies to more than one person so that other family members/beneficiaries could know his wishes. Same thing is true about the car--if that was also written down on that list.

It seems as if this brother executor has possibly discovered the list, and of course, thrown it away so there is no proof of anything and he can dispose of things the way he wants to. If I were you I would at least tell the daughter about his intentions that she receive the car so she can at least discuss this with the executor--maybe he'll feel guilty enough to go ahead and give it to her (she should also tell him that you were a witness to this request about his last wishes) or she should at least ask for half the proceeds if he sells it.

And by the way, if he claims an executor fee of 10% this would not be proper. Someone should review his claim for fees when he files it, near the time the estate is about to close, or after the estate has closed, when the documents will be in the probate file. The correct amount for executors fee by law is 4% of the first $100,000, plus 3% of the next $300,000, and 2% of the balance. If you review the file after the estate has closed, one or more of the heirs should file a petition with the court to ask for a refund of any excess amount to the estate to be distributed amongst the heirs.

SINCERELY,

[email protected]
 
D

duckquest

Guest
Thank you for your reply. Just a quick background about the executor and the corvette. A few days after his brother died he remembered that the corvette was stored in the garage of my friends 2nd house. He actually made the comment to the children of the deceased that he was not going to mention the corvette to the lawyer because he was going to join a corvette club and fix it up for himself. When I found this out I told the children the story of their dad's request. The exector's story then changed to having to sell the corvette and if the daughter wanted it she would have to buy it from the estate. Even though this corvette is not in working order and needs much repair he is under the impression that it may be valued at $20,000. I don't believe this can be true. But he plans to have it appraised and if it does appraise at this price that is what she would have to pay to get it, so he says. Just one more thing to show why I feel his actions are questionable to me...he couldn't find a title to a boat that is part of the estate so he had to have a title search ran and this title search showed the title of the corvette so he couldn't keep it secret from the lawyer. Do you think they should challange his appointment as executor to have him replaced? Or should they just take what he dishes out?
 
A

advisor10

Guest
AUG. 27, 2001

Your follow-up explanation adds more to the mystery.

Yes, I feel the children should challenge his appointment as executor, but can they afford to retain an attorney to do this? Before they decide to challenge his appointment, they need to have the attorney review his actions about the corvette (and any other actions that may have been improper that he is doing) to see if the will gives him permission to handle the corvette or does the will not give him permission to do anything with it? The fact that more than one person heard him make the comment about the corvette is significant. It seems like he is being selfish or greedy, but you need to have proof of misconduct.

SINCERELY,

[email protected]
 

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