Beneficiary Interfering with Sale of House

[rockofages]

Hi All,

I am the Executor of an estate in which everything is essentially to be divided equally between a number of beneficiaries. The will is quite clear. One of the beneficiaries has been very troublesome from the get go, objecting basically to everything I do.

I have put the dwelling house on the market only to have this beneficiary contact the Estate Agent a number of times telling him he has no right to sell the house without their consent, and that he is to immediately remove the For Sale sign etc. He said he also suspects that this beneficiary is spreading rumours around the (small) town in an effort to undermine any potential sale. They also have not (yet anyway) made any sort of an offer to buy the house from the other beneficiaries. (FWIW the other beneficiaries want the house sold)

The EA will put it in writing that the beneficiary in question has directly attempted to interfere, and I would like to send a letter to the solicitor of the beneficiary to warn against interfering with the sale, but on what grounds do I do it? It's not criminal, so I would have to threaten a civil action?

Anyone any similar experiences?

Thanks.

 

[mathepac]

... The EA will put it in writing that the beneficiary in question has directly attempted to interfere, and I would like to send a letter to the solicitor of the beneficiary to warn against interfering with the sale, but on what grounds do I do it? It's not criminal, so I would have to threaten a civil action? ...

I believe you need to take legal advice and I think the correct course of action is to have the solicitor for the executor write to the beneficiary concerned.

Personally I would speak to all the other beneficiaries and get agreement on a course of action, pointing out that any additional costs and potential losses will be coming from the estate.

It's a tough one - I empathise.

 

[Yorrick]

Your duty as Executor is to ensure that the wwishes of the deceased are caried out.
If you have any doubt as to your actions you must employ a legal advisor, the cost of which comes from the estate of the deceased.
It may be useful to have a letter drawn up by a solicitor and forwarded to each beneficiary in which you indicate that there has been obstruction of your duties and that legal costs will be incurred which the estate must pay for.
Indeed mention that you are getting a barristers opinion and really frightem them.

This might get the awkward individual to cooperate instead of blowing the estate on legal fees.thinking