Expert: Dick Dennis - 7/30/2009

Question
I am the Executrix of my mother's Estate. My realtor has a buyer that wants to pay cash for it ASAP. My nutty sister won't agree on the sale & "claims" she wants to buy it herself & has offered $7500 more than the cash people. We went in front of a magistrate yesterday & I got a 5 yr. restraining order against her. She told the magistrate she was moving to TN., in Jan. when her boyfriend gets out of prison. My lawyer, my realtor & myself, are tired of her changing her mind every day & we are ALL VERY frustrated. Would you happen to know how long she can hold up the sale of the house, since I will NOT agree for her to buy it, & neither will 1 other person included in the Estate. There's 4 of us involved, including myself & her. 1 is a 14 yr. old minor who's dad & stepmom will go with the cash offer & not hers, but they could possibly go with her offer. My 22 year niece DOES want the cash offer to go through. My realtor doesn't know the law regarding her keeping us from selling it & my Probate lawyer is just as mad as my realtor & myself. He won't help & only wants to know when & how much the house we be sold for & when. So, I hope you can help me. Yours truly, Karen

Answer
I am sorry to report to you that you need to engage a REAL ESTATE attorney who will force the sale of the property in court. And it may take a while before the case is settled (you know how attorneys and courts are). Therefore it may screw up your buyer's interest in buying the property. I am really surprised the probate attorney did not know all this. Didn't your mother leave a will stipulating who can do what with the property? The fact that you are the Executrix would suggest that you have the right to sell the property WITHOUT your sister's approval.

I strongly recommend you contact a knowledgeable local real estate attorney to help you solve this problem. There is one other way you may want to explore: see if you can negotiate a "price" your sister is willing to accept for her signature. It may be less expensive than hiring an attorney to take care of the matter. I do wish you well.

Dick Dennis