Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Florida

My father passed away (in Florida) and one of my sisters is the executor, there are 6 kids. There is a lot of fighting going on with my siblings about my father's belongings in his house. The sisters want to liquidate everything and the sons want certain things to keep of our fathers. My question is: My sister, the executor of the will, said if we do not agree upon items of significant value that the attorney has the authority to liquidate the assets and distribute them equally. I just want to know if this is true. Thanks


Asked on 8/11/14, 11:30 am

2 Answers from Attorneys

Barry Stein De Cardenas, Freixas, Stein & Zachary

The personal representative may have authority to liquidate, but the Court would likely have to approve. If there are items of some significance to you or others, they should put the personal representative on notice of this and allow you to purchase them if they are to be liquidated OR allow you to take them against your share of the Estate.

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Answered on 8/11/14, 11:38 am
William Gwaltney William W. Gwaltney, Attorneys at Law

I believe you asked a question about your estate issues last week related to your sister wanting to offset the value of personal property from other aspects of the inheritance. With all of the issues going on you truly need to schedule a consultation with a probate attorney to discuss your situation. Coming to a forum and asking multiple questions with limited information is not going to prove all that productive in the long run.

Probate law has a specific set of rules that must be followed and they are not easy to navigate, which is partly why the Personal Representative of the Estate (formerly called the Executor/Executrix) is required to have an attorney represent them in most cases. Many of the tasks/duties of the PR are governed not only by the law but also the Will itself. Without reviewing the Will an attorney is unable to provide you with responses to many of your questions and you could be inadvertently waiving some of your rights to your father's estate by delaying.

Good luck and call a probate attorney right away.

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Answered on 8/11/14, 12:22 pm


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