QLD How to Insist that Executor of Will Sell the Property?

Australia's #1 for Law
Join 150,000 Australians every month. Ask a question, respond to a question and better understand the law today!
FREE - Join Now
2 July 2018
3
0
1
Hi

I wanted to get some clarity on the following, please:

Mother (last surviving parent) died and left the deceased estate to 3 grown children equally to be sold and distributed. Two oldest siblings are the executors of the will. Probate has been cleared.

The second sibling is living in the house (along with his adult child) and doing all the paperwork, etc., of executor of will role, as the other sibling is not in a good mental health condition.

Mother passed away over 2 years ago. The third sibling would like to have the house sold and finalised, but older two siblings have said they are waiting for the market to pick up.

The question is, what right does the third sibling have to have the house sold within a reasonable timeframe, irregardless of the current market value? While he was happy to wait for a period, this has dragged on and while not related, the sale of the house would relieve a financial burden.

Without spending significant money on legal fees, is there a way to insist on the executors either selling the property and dividing the sale as per the will, or purchasing his share at current market value? The third sibling has asked on numerous occasions to have the estate finalised, but as he is not an executor, does not have a voice.

Thanks!
 

Rod

Lawyer
LawConnect (LawTap) Verified
27 May 2014
7,726
1,056
2,894
www.hutchinsonlegal.com.au
Which state are you in?
 

Rod

Lawyer
LawConnect (LawTap) Verified
27 May 2014
7,726
1,056
2,894
www.hutchinsonlegal.com.au
There is no law saying when distribution has to be made by, however 12 months is seen to be reasonable.

Also, there's a possibility the sibling living in the house should be paying rent to the two siblings not living in the house.

If the second sibling is abusing his position by not selling and living in the house rent free then the 3rd sibling can apply to court to have the 2nd sibling removed as trustee.
 
2 July 2018
3
0
1
There is no law saying when distribution has to be made by, however 12 months is seen to be reasonable.

Also, there's a possibility the sibling living in the house should be paying rent to the two siblings not living in the house.

If the second sibling is abusing his position by not selling and living in the house rent free then the 3rd sibling can apply to court to have the 2nd sibling removed as trustee.

Thanks

They had a 'gentleman's agreement' that he would pay the rates etc in lieu of rent, but it was never intended to go on for so long. They also agreed that he could purchase their mother's car and offset this against his share of the sale. However, without a sale, the other two siblings are definitely not getting any benefits except a small sum of cash that was paid from the cash assets.

The other question is there any potential legal issues for the beneficiaries if the property has not been a) sold or b) transferred to them? i.e. is there a risk of ATO causing problems because the house is an asset that is not declared? Or is there other timeframe issues that may impact the longer the house stays in trust (not sure if that is the legal term - sorry).

Thanks for your helps so far.