Father’s Will & Step Mother

Jacquio90

I am an executor of my father’s will. He had 25% ownership in the property he shared with my step mother.  In his will he states his 25% should be left to his 3 daughters on the death of my step mother.  In the meantime she has sold the house and gone into a residential home.  This 25% has supposedly been put into a separate account.  Am I at liberty to ask how much has been put aside?

Linton

Jacquio90 said:

I am an executor of my father’s will. He had 25% ownership in the property he shared with my step mother.  In his will he states his 25% should be left to his 3 daughters on the death of my step mother.  In the meantime she has sold the house and gone into a residential home.  This 25% has supposedly been put into a separate account.  Am I at liberty to ask how much has been put aside?

What should happen now will be very dependent on what father's will says - the exact wording.  Generally the rule is that if the deceased no longer owned a bequeathed asset at death then the bequest fails. Presumably when the house was sold the 25% should have been paid to your father, not kept by the step mother.  So you need to find out what happened to it.

PS:  To emphasise one point - one fundamental duty of an executor is to identify the deceased's assets and gain control of them.  So you must find out what happened to the money.

mebu60

If your father's estate owns 25% of the property, how was the house sold without agreement of all the parties to ownership? And why wasn't the 25% paid to the estate? 

Jacquio90

Sorry should have said my father died a couple of years ago.

molerat

As Mebu60 says, how did your stepmother manage to sell an asset that she did not wholly own ?  If the will was worded correctly the 25% share should have passed to those nominated upon disposal of the asset.  As executor of your father's estate you have the duty to now realise the proceeds from the sale - providing of course the will was correctly worded.

Keep_pedalling

I am also puzzled how it was sold. If they have put the money aside they should pay it to the administrator of your father’s estate unless his will gave her the income from his share of the proceeds of the sale. 

Brie

Confused.

Father has said his 25% should go to his daughters after the death of Step Mom.  What did Father's will say about who would get his 25% when he died? 

If his share went to Step Mom then as far as I'm aware there is no obligation for SM to give diddly to anyone when the house was sold or even when she dies.  It would all be dependent on what is in her will.  Daughters do not own the house therefore SM could sell it whenever she wanted.  Unless SM's will says that 25% go to her step daughters then that's when they might get something.  Assuming anything is left.

Jacquio90

Life tenant being Step mother

mebu60

At the risk of repeating myself and others, how was the house sold without agreement of all the parties to ownership and why wasn't the 25% paid to the estate?

Jacquio90

The house was sold on agreement that the 25% was placed into an account or trust.  All I’m asking is am I at liberty to ask how much the 25% is minus fees is and where it has been placed.

sheslookinhot

Of course you are. You can also find out how much the property sold for, although there may be a short time delay until the “sold for” price becomes available.