QUESTION

Can an administered of an estate sell their deceased parents home without all siblings agreeing? There are 5 living children.

Asked on Feb 01st, 2017 on Wills and Probate - Pennsylvania
More details to this question:
Our sibling that has administered roll is selling our deceased parents home, without all 5 of the living children agreeing to the sale of the home. Is this something that can be done without all agreeing. Currently 1 of the 5 children are living in the home and not paying the mortgage or tax's and has lived there for 1 1/2 years (leaving an unpaid balance over $8,000 added to the mortgage). The administered supposedly has paperwork started for the sale of the home and he only selling for what is owed on the home. 3 of the 5 children are not in agreement and feel that the home should be sold at fair market price. Is this legal what our sibling is doing.
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2 ANSWERS

Business Law Attorney serving Pittsburgh, PA at Fiffik Law Group, P.C.
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the situation that you present is not uncommon.  I assume your sibling is the properly appointed administrator of the Estate.  The Administrator has the authority to sell assets of the Estate, including real estate.  However the Administrator's administration of the Estate and sale of assets is subject to the oversight of the Oprhan's Court.  the Administrator has a duty to carry out his/her duty in the best interests of the beneficiaries.  That means selling the house at a fair price.  Typically an Administrator who thinks beneficiaries will not agree on a sale will seek the court's permission to sell and in doing so give everyone a chance to review the terms of the proposed sale and raise objections. Sounds like that didn't happen here.  If the house hasn't sold yet, you might consider retaining counsel to initiate a proceeding to prevent the sale without court approval.  If the house has been sold, you can object to the Administrator's handling of the estate and ask the court to "charge" the Administrator for any actions that ended up resulting in a detriment to you.
Answered on Feb 02nd, 2017 at 8:54 AM

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Maryellen Sullivan
The answer to your question depends on some specifics that you do not provide, but here are the basics:  assuming one of your parents survived the other and then owned the house entirely when he or she died, that parent's Will controls what happens with the house.  If the Will states that the house is to be sold, it must be sold unless all five siblings agree to not sell.  It the Will just gives the house equally to all five children, then the five children can decide to keep it.  But if all fiv siblings do not agree to keep the house, then it must be sold.   The administrator of the estate has a responsibility to all of the beneficiaries, who it seems are just your five siblings.  This duty includes collecting rent if someone is living in the house, unless all siblings agree not to, and selling the house for fair market value to maximize each sibling's distribution of estate assets.  If your sibling who is administering the estate is not doing this, you can get the probate court involved to help.  The court can supervise the administration of the estate, which means the court must approve all actions including the purchase price of the house, or you can seek to remove your sibling and replace her or him.  It is usually better for relationships to try to agree rather than to go to court.  Perhaps your sibling administering the estate would agree to some assistance in selling the house, or all five of you could schedule a mediation to try to come to an agreement.  It's tough to get five people to agree, but a mediator with some knowledge of probate law can be really helpful.  Good luck.
Answered on Feb 02nd, 2017 at 5:08 AM

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