# Executors right to sell property question



## jackie1 (4 Oct 2008)

Hi,

Can anyone advise me please.

I have probate on my fathers house I am the sole executor.

Unfortunatley after the death of my father a court case ensued to establish the rightful beneficiaries of his estate as others laid claim to it. 

My sister and I won the case.

I kept up all of the maintenance, insurance various bills etc out of my personal monies whilst waiting for the court case to happen. I continue to pay for for any on going expenses related to the property. 

 The will states that his estate property and possessions is to be shared equally amongst the benficiaries, my sister and I.

All thats left of my fathers estate is his house.

The legal fees have to be paid and it was agreed by me as executor that the legal fees would be paid from the proceed of the sale of the house with the remainder divided equally between my sister and I.

I now have the house up for sale having kept my sister informed at all times of valuations etc.

She has now decided that she has a problem with the house being sold.
She now refuses to answer any of my calls or discuss the matter.

She has no funds of her own to get a mortage if she wanted to buy the house or to pay any of the bills.

As the sole executor do I have the legal right to continue the sale of the property, deal with the legal expenses and divide the remainder equally between us or is there any action my sister can take to prevent me from going ahead with the sale?


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## mathepac (4 Oct 2008)

I'm sorry to hear about the hassles you are encountering dealing with your late father's estate. Being an executor can be a lonely and thankless task. The only reward is in knowing you are doing what your late father would have wanted.

If your solicitor hasn't already advised you of this, you are entitled to recover any costs incurred maintaining your late father's property in a saleable condition including insurance, maintenance, utility bills, security, etc. As executor you have a responsibility to do this but you are not expected to be out of pocket in your endeavours, so keep all receipts and pass copies to your solicitor.

As executor, your responsibilities are to gather up the constituent parts of your late father's estate, pay any creditors (legal, Revenue, estate agent, executor costs, etc) and divide the residual amongst the beneficiaries, as per the the wishes expressed in the will which has now gone to probate.

If your sister has effectively opted out of being kept informed as to progress, keep a diary of your attempts to communicate with her and her response, if any, and again pass these on to your solicitor.

AFAIK, unless your sister takes a High Court action to have you removed as executor, there is nothing she can do. It a shame that the estate has been and apparently continues to be a divisive issue, but IME, its not unusual.

I'm not a lawyer, but have been an executor. I hope it works out.


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## jackie1 (4 Oct 2008)

Thank you mathepac, I can identify exactly with your response. Personally I want to follow my fathers wishes to the hilt no matter how un-coperative my sister has now chosen to be.

As there is only the two of us, the last thing I ever would have expected is her lack of co-operation.

If anyone else has an opinion I would be glad to hear them.


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## FKH (6 Oct 2008)

Does your sister live in the house? Is she does things could be tricky but if she doesn't then a sole executor you have the right to sell the house unless it expressly says that the house isn't to be sold in the will.

Have your solicitor write to your sister to communicate what you are doing and simply sell the house and administer the estate.


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## jackie1 (6 Oct 2008)

FKH said:


> Does your sister live in the house? Is she does things could be tricky but if she doesn't then a sole executor you have the right to sell the house unless it expressly says that the house isn't to be sold in the will.
> 
> Have your solicitor write to your sister to communicate what you are doing and simply sell the house and administer the estate.


 
Thank you for the reply no, the house is unoccupied


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