Parents recently deceased, only brother made executor of the will.
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
Parents recently deceased, only brother made executor of the will.
Our parents left a small parcel of land that includes a double wide. I also have a triple wide sitting on this land. Our sister was living in parents home before & after deaths. Recently, while I was away, & sister was in the hospital, our brother moved our sister out & moved himself in. To top things off, when I asked what he thought about my placing a small trailer on the land for our sister, he said “we’ll see” Can he prevent me from placing a home on this land? The land has not even been probated yet, and it not paid for yet!
Asked on May 9, 2009 under Estate Planning, Alabama
Answers:
B. B., Member, New Jersey Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 14 years ago | Contributor
Right now, the land belongs to the estate of your last deceased parent, and if your brother is the executor under the parent's will, he has legal control of it. That means that he can prevent you from putting another trailer on the land, and it might mean that he was within his rights to move your sister out, depending on what agreement, if any, your sister had with your parent(s).
Moving onto the property for his own benefit, though, might be a different matter, especially if he is not paying rent into the estate for his personal use of the property. The executor of an estate is held to what the law calls a fiduciary duty, which means (among other things) that he cannot use his position for an unfair personal benefit.
I think you and your sister need to talk to a lawyer in your area who has experience in wills and estates. Cases like this, between brothers and sisters after parents have died, can be among the nastiest, most expensive and unpredictable lawsuits at the courthouse, and there are a lot more facts to be considered than what you've mentioned. The exact wording of the will is just the first of those things. In your place, I would talk to the lawyer before I talked to the executor brother again. One place you can look for counsel is our website, http://attorneypages.com
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.