How JustAnswer Works:

 
 
 
  • Ask an Expert
    Experts are full of valuable knowledge and are ready to help with any question. Credentials confirmed by a Fortune 500 verification firm.
  • Get a Professional Answer
    Via email, text message, or notification as you wait on our site.
    Ask follow up questions if you need to.
  • 100% Satisfaction Guarantee
    Rate the answer you receive.
 
 
 
Ask JudgeLaw Your Own Question
JudgeLaw, Attorney
Category: Estate Law
Positive Feedback: 97.6 %
Satisfied Customers: 16218
Experience: Over 25 years of practice.
Type Your Estate Law Question Here...
JudgeLaw is online now
A new question is answered every 9 seconds

Can the executor of will who is also a beneficiary stop another beneficiary from entering

Resolved Question:

Can the executor of will who is also a beneficiary stop another beneficiary from entering the home that according to the will becomes equally both of theirs.
Can the other beneficiary remove the lock to enter?

Submitted: 11 months ago.
Category: Estate Law
Expert:  JudgeLaw replied 11 months ago.

Thank you for using Just Answer. If you require clarification, please feel free to post a follow up question.

The executor is the legal representative of the estate and has the authority to stop a beneficiary from entering the house while it is still titled to the estate. The beneficiary may not change the lock. It would be a criminal act (breaking and entering).

Customer: replied 11 months ago.

Basically my brother cannot let me into my parents' home even though it is half mine.


By the way the will hasn't been probated yet does that change the situation?

Expert:  JudgeLaw replied 11 months ago.

If the will has not been admitted to probate then there is no executor. You should file a petition to open the estate in probate court.

Someone needs to be appointed representative of the estate in order to have legal authority to administer the house and change the title. As a next of kin, you have as much right to enter the property as your brother.

Customer: replied 11 months ago.

So my mother died in NY the apt is in florida and my brother has been unable to probate the will because that is who he is. Now the apt. still belongs to my mother and not the estate because legally there is no estate until probate, so I can have a locksmith let me in.

Expert:  JudgeLaw replied 11 months ago.

Yes, go into the apartment, but do open the estate soon. You can not take property from the apartment. If you do, the executor can force you to restore it to the estate when it is eventually probated.

Customer: replied 11 months ago.

What if I know my brother took property from the apt. already. He claims to have an inventory of everything,


Also can I probate the will or "open it" I gave him the original will from 1981

Expert:  JudgeLaw replied 11 months ago.

As an interested party you can file a petition to open the estate. The brother can be forced to produce the will. You will need to provide a valid reason why you should be executor rather than the brother.

JudgeLaw, Attorney
Category: Estate Law
Positive Feedback: 97.6 %
Satisfied Customers: 16218
Experience: Over 25 years of practice.
JudgeLaw and 8 other Estate Law Specialists are ready to help you

JustAnswer in the News:

 
 
 
Ask-a-doc Web sites: If you've got a quick question, you can try to get an answer from sites that say they have various specialists on hand to give quick answers... Justanswer.com.
JustAnswer.com...has seen a spike since October in legal questions from readers about layoffs, unemployment and severance.
Web sites like justanswer.com/legal
...leave nothing to chance.
Traffic on JustAnswer rose 14 percent...and had nearly 400,000 page views in 30 days...inquiries related to stress, high blood pressure, drinking and heart pain jumped 33 percent.
Tory Johnson, GMA Workplace Contributor, discusses work-from-home jobs, such as JustAnswer in which verified Experts answer people’s questions.
I will tell you that...the things you have to go through to be an Expert are quite rigorous.
 
 
 

What Customers are Saying:

 
 
 
  • My husband has been driving me insane with questions regarding estate issues since his mother died. I'm not a lawyer! Thanks to JustAnswer, I was able to calm his concerns. Loretta T Illinois
< Last | Next >
  • My husband has been driving me insane with questions regarding estate issues since his mother died. I'm not a lawyer! Thanks to JustAnswer, I was able to calm his concerns. Loretta T Illinois
  • Thanks Adam!! - A very direct and understandable response - you have been a great help! Happy Customer Ellicott City, MD
  • Mr. Kaplun clearly had an exceptional understanding of the issue and was able to explain it concisely. I would recommend JustAnswer to anyone. Great service that lives up to its promises! Gary B. Edmond, OK
  • My Expert was fast and seemed to have the answer to my taser question at the tips of her fingers. Communication was excellent. I left feeling confident in her answer. Eric Redwood City, CA
  • I am very pleased with JustAnswer as a place to go for divorce or criminal law knowledge and insight. Michael Wichita, KS
  • PaulMJD helped me with questions I had regarding an urgent legal matter. His answers were excellent. Three H. Houston, TX
  • Anne was extremely helpful. Her information put me in the right direction for action that kept me legal, possible saving me a ton of money in the future. Thank you again, Anne!! Elaine Atlanta, GA
 
 
 

Meet The Experts:

 
 
 
  • TMcJD's Avatar

    TMcJD

    Attorney

    Positive Feedback:

    98.4 %

    Satisfied Customers:

    3001
    Wills, Trusts, Probate & other Estate Matters
< Last | Next >
  • http://ww2.justanswer.com/uploads/MC/mclemorelawyer/2011-9-21_193631_IMGP8718Version2.64x64.jpg TMcJD's Avatar

    TMcJD

    Attorney

    Positive Feedback:

    98.4 %

    Satisfied Customers:

    3001
    Wills, Trusts, Probate & other Estate Matters
  • http://ww2.justanswer.com/uploads/IN/insearchoftheanswer/2011-6-30_221052_RWFPHOTO.64x64.jpg Est. Planning Beacon's Avatar

    Est. Planning Beacon

    Attorney

    Positive Feedback:

    98.5 %

    Satisfied Customers:

    3877
    29 Years Practicing Law - Including Tax and Estate Planning
  • http://ww2.justanswer.com/uploads/paulmojd/2008-11-27_190909_paul_pic_2.jpg PaulMJD's Avatar

    PaulMJD

    Attorney

    Positive Feedback:

    98.2 %

    Satisfied Customers:

    3605
    Experienced in Trust and Succession Law, including Louisiana Laws
  • http://ww2.justanswer.com/uploads/DA/davidhken/2012-6-9_172941_europe06177.64x64.jpg David Kennett's Avatar

    David Kennett

    Attorney

    Positive Feedback:

    98.3 %

    Satisfied Customers:

    3558
    25 years practicing attorney
  • http://ww2.justanswer.com/uploads/NY/nyclawyer/2012-6-7_22011_photo66139201112041.64x64.jpg INFOLAWYER's Avatar

    INFOLAWYER

    Attorney

    Positive Feedback:

    96.0 %

    Satisfied Customers:

    3545
    Licensed attorney helping individuals and businesses
  • http://ww2.justanswer.com/uploads/BA/barristerinky/2012-6-10_22423_office.64x64.jpg Barrister's Avatar

    Barrister

    Attorney

    Positive Feedback:

    98.4 %

    Satisfied Customers:

    1892
    13 yrs estate law, real estate. Wills/Trusts/Probate
  • http://ww2.justanswer.com/uploads/AS/ashevillelawyer/2012-7-17_232953_iStock000015427320Small.64x64.jpg John Elder's Avatar

    John Elder

    Estate & Elder Law

    Positive Feedback:

    98.7 %

    Satisfied Customers:

    1473
    Over 14 years experience in Medicaid, Estates, Trust.