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My father passed away two years ago and my brother was named executor of the estate in the will. Some of dads money has been distributed to myself and and siblings. However, we received notice yesterday that my brother has not been paying the house payment until the house was sold and he has not paid the taxes or the insurance on the home. There should have been ample money to take care of these expenses. He has not returned our phone calls in several months and we are wondering what we can do to stop foreclosure on my dads home and have my brother removed as executor.
Optional Information: State/Country relating to question: Kentucky Already Tried: WE talked to the judge and an attorney early on when we had thoughts that things were not being done correctly but we were told by both that because he was listed in the will as executor, we would have to be able to prove that he had done something wrong. We have also confronted him numerous times and asked to see documentation of what was in the estate account but can never get him to oblige.
What you tell us here definitely suggest that he has done something wrong. A foreclosure notice on estate property might be exactly the proof that the attorney needs. I don't understand why some action to require the executor to account hasn't been taken by now. Two years is a long time for a small estate to be pending. You might need a more aggressive probate lawyer.
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Experience: 30+ yrs. handling probate estate, wills, trust, inheritance & real estate related matters
I guess what we are wanting to know is how do we as beneficiaries prevent this home from going into foreclosure and losing the assets associated with it?
THanks for your accept and I apologize for overlooking a specific part of your question. I thought that the house had already been sold in foreclosure. Apparently a foreclosure is only threatened at this time. The estate can make up the back mortgage payments to avoid foreclosure, or an heir can make the payments and claim reimbursement from the estate (not recommended unless imminent loss of the home is threatened). I take it that the home is on the market and your brother figures that he can make up the delinquent payments out of the sale proceeds. If the estate is liquid and solvent, and there is substantial equity in the home, by letting payments go delinquent and creating late charges, fees and costs, your brother is wasting estate assets. That is easy to prove simply with the correspondence from the bank. You can call the bank and/or the attorney handling any court action, but I doubt that they will speak with you since you have no legal standing. I'll go back to my prior answer and repeat that your best course of action now is to have an attorney file the petition to remove your brother and appoint someone else to finish handling the estate.