Co-Executors - One Wants to Settle, One Doesn't

[happyinky]

My question involves estate proceedings in the state of: Kentucky

My husband's last surviving parent passed away a couple of years ago, leaving he and his sibling as co-executors and heirs of a farm with a fairly new house. Sibling doesn't live in the area so my husband is left to take care of the farm and most estate functions for majority of the year. Problem is, sibling won't consent to settling estate and says no to any actions husband makes to try to move things forward. We offered for a year to buy sibling's part of the new house but no sale. Then my husband asked his sibling to buy his part of the house, but again no sale. We are stuck with 1/2 a house that we can't use but the estate is paying for all the upkeep. We believe and have some evidence that at some point the sibling is going to try to get my husband to set up a partnership which basically means he does all the work, sibling controls all the strings.

My husband has done back flips to try to maintain a relationship with his sibling, mainly because he cares, but also to try to not let the estate be eaten up in legal fees. Do you have any suggestions on what we can do? We want the estate attorney to set-up a meeting to try to address all these issues, but he drags his feet as much as the sibling does and won't respond to my husband's questions.

Also, we are wondering, since the estate has been going on for a couple of years now -- what might the court start expecting from the co-executors. Read some statutes about the possibility of paying taxes/fees to the court on the estate after two years and also about the possibility of having to start giving reports to the court. Any knowledge of these statutes? Thanks!

[Mr. Knowitall]

Your husband can talk to the lawyer about having the estate sell the real estate and dividing the cash between the heirs. If he waits until he inherits a share, he can bring an action for partition and sale - but he can expect that to cost quite a bit of money and to take a long time to resolve. I have no information about why it's taking your husband and his brother so long to probate the estate, so if he wants to know the ramifications of his slow movement that's really something he needs to address with the lawyer.

[happyinky]

Thanks for your reply. The reason for the hold-up on the estate is solely due to my husband's sibling refusing to move forward on anything. He has spoken with sibling many times over the last two years about doing something and sibling always refuses to talk with him and has refused to sign anything that means taking a step forward in the process. House is still very much like it was the day his parent died -- clothes in the closet, shoes on the basement steps, etc. The estate is paying for insurance on the house, but if something were to happen we were told by the state insurance department commissioner that the insurance company would not have to honor the claim because the house is empty most of the time. Sibling uses it as a place to stay when in town. He passed the insurance information on to sibling but they didn't care. That said, my husband doesn't want to sell the farm. He would just like his half and no more than his half. He's concerned because if he pushes his sibling, he isn't sure how far they will take this. I don't think they want to sell the farm either but it does seem their goal is to get it all because their actions are suspicious at best and they have done some things behind our backs that we have found out about. Is it possible to get an arbitrator to work with them on the estate, other than the estate attorney? And, can the sibling be coerced into meeting with an arbitrator? I'm thinking of a person the family has used over the last few years who is in accounting and financial planning and who has a lot of experience with farms.

I've been reading a lot of the other threads in this forum tonight and it has brought to light another question for us. God forbid, but if something were to happen to my husband, what would happen to the portion of the estate he is suppose to inherit? He and I have wills and have named each other beneficiaries and our children secondary beneficiaries. His parent's will states that all property be distributed to he and his sibling and names them co-executors. If my husband had died before his parent, his share was to go to our children and his sibling was to be the trustee of their inheritance until they are 21. Is there any way, if something happened to him, that sibling could get the trustee portion enacted? Or, would my husband's inheritance still go to his heirs per his will, even if the estate was not completed?

[paleolith]

I believe that anyone with an interest in the estate can challenge the administration of the estate, though I don't know the procedure. If your husband does this, he would essentially be challenging himself (and his sibling). The attorney is probably reluctant because he works for the estate and has two bosses, your husband and your husband's sibling, and is getting conflicting signals.

Taking such a step is of course likely to strain the family relationship even more. All the things you suggest might be proposed as ways to resolve the challenge. But AFAIK, the only hook you have is such a challenge. You and your husband have to decide whether to continue on the current course or make a challenge.

As for your followup question, I don't know the answer, and you should probably start a new thread if you want an answer here. The regulars often don't look at followups once they've posted an answer.

Edward

[happyinky]

I have this reply in another thread, but I was advised to put it in a new thread in order to have a better chance at getting an answer. Following is the situation and my questions.

The reason for the hold-up on the estate is solely due to my husband's sibling refusing to move forward on anything. He has spoken with sibling many times over the last two years about doing something and sibling always refuses to talk with him and has refused to sign anything that means taking a step forward in the process. House is still very much like it was the day his parent died -- clothes in the closet, shoes on the basement steps, etc. The estate is paying for insurance on the house, but if something were to happen we were told by the state insurance department commissioner that the insurance company would not have to honor the claim because the house is empty most of the time. Sibling uses it as a place to stay when in town. He passed the insurance information on to sibling but they didn't care. That said, my husband doesn't want to sell the farm. He would just like his half and no more than his half. He's concerned because if he pushes his sibling, he isn't sure how far they will take this. I don't think they want to sell the farm either but it does seem their goal is to get it all because their actions are suspicious at best and they have done some things behind our backs that we have found out about. Is it possible to get an arbitrator to work with them on the estate, other than the estate attorney? And, can the sibling be coerced into meeting with an arbitrator? I'm thinking of a person the family has used over the last few years who is in accounting and financial planning and who has a lot of experience with farms.

I've been reading a lot of the other threads in this forum tonight and it has brought to light another question for us. God forbid, but if something were to happen to my husband, what would happen to the portion of the estate he is suppose to inherit? He and I have wills and have named each other beneficiaries and our children secondary beneficiaries. His parent's will states that all property be distributed to he and his sibling and names them co-executors. If my husband had died before his parent, his share was to go to our children and his sibling was to be the trustee of their inheritance until they are 21. Is there any way, if something happened to him, that sibling could get the trustee portion enacted? Or, would my husband's inheritance still go to his heirs per his will, even if the estate was not completed?

[paleolith]

happyinky,

I intended my advice to be "if you need to ask a question on a different topic, start a new thread with a new subject and address only the new topic". I'm afraid that just repeating the posting with a duplicate subject will only annoy the regulars. I apologize for being too vague in my advice.

Edward

[happyinky]

Sorry for the misunderstanding. I thought you were telling me that my reply and question would most likely not be seen/answered unless I posted it in a new thread. And I actually was thinking the same thing myself because it has been about five days since I posted my last question. I'm new to this website and if I knew how to delete the thread, I would. But honestly, and I'm really not saying this to be mean, but if a duplicate heading is all it takes to annoy the regulars, I'm probably at the wrong site anyway. I've had enough of being treated like an annoyance by my in-law to last me a lifetime. Dealing with as difficult a person as we have dealt with for the past two years has been emotionally draining. But I really do appreciate you trying to help me and I appreciate the answers I have received. I'll bow out now.

[paleolith]

Yep, it can get unruly, just read around. ;-) If you need to talk something through -- and it sounds like you do, given the family situation -- then this isn't the best place; here you'll get a technical answer but only occasionally a discussion.

I think you got the answer to your first question: you can challenge the administration, but you'll have to weigh that against family repercussions. You would probably be well advised to consult an attorney, even if only for a single session. Remember that the estate's attorney is just that -- NOT your attorney. An attorney would be far more likely to know how to resolve it most expeditiously.

As for the second question, take a look here. It appears to depend on how his parent's will was written. If it doesn't say anything about this situation, then your husband's will applies to what he inherits, even if that's after he dies. If it says "per stirpes", then it goes to his lineal descendants. If it changes the inheritance based on who predeceased whom, that wording applies. Note however than even if your husband were to die today, he did not predecease his parent. Someone else would have to say for sure, but I think it's only the relative dates of death that matter, not whether the estate's assets have been disbursed.

Edward

[Mr. Knowitall]

Unless you see "moderator" or "administrator" beneath somebody's name, please recognize that they have no more say in how the forum "rules" work than you do.

Your husband should talk to a lawyer about the possibility of having his sibling removed as a co-executor, keeping in mind that the sibling is likely to respond by filing a motion to have your husband removed. Yes... family drama will probably result. But will that actually change anything?