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My brother and second oldest sister were named executor’s of my parents will, there was little property a 2008 Dodge Magnum 4-door SW (valued at $12,000.00) and an acre of land (valued at $12,000.00) there was an agreement made by us 4 children that my brother could by the car for $12,000.00 and he would pay myself and my 2 sisters $3,000.00 each for the car. Both of my sisters have received their money $3,000.00 each, I have not received my money and this has been 2 weeks since he took ownership of the car. I have e-mailed him a couple of times and texted him a couple of times and he is not answering any of my messages about where my portion of the money is. What should I do now?
Optional Information: State/Country relating to question: Arizona Already Tried: e-mails and text messages
Hello,Thank you for using JA..Was this an oral agreement or a written one?.Is brother employed?.Has the estate already been settled and the vehicle transferred to him?,
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Thanks.
Barrister
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This was a oral agreement, he is retired receiving retirement and social security, yes he has ownership of the car and has the title changed to his name
Ok, if he doesn't respond or tender payment to you, your recourse would be to file suit for breach of an oral contract. An oral contract is enforceable once a party to the contract has performed under it. So when you agreed to allow him to transfer the vehicle, you performed under your portion of the contract. If he fails to pay, then he is in breach..I would suggest sending him a written letter requesting payment of the $3K within a set period of time or you will have to file suit. Send it both certified mail as well as regular first class mail. Then if he doesn't pay or contact you to make some type of payment arrangement you can agree to, you would have to file suit against him and get a judgment. You could then take the judgment and lien the vehicle and potentially force a sale of it to pay your judgment..
Experience: 13 yrs estate law, real estate. Wills/Trusts/Probate
Do I file a suit with, small claims court, Probate court or cival court. Thanks Bill
You could file in small claims, but the problem is the limit is only $2500 so if you wanted to sue for more than that (i.e. the $3K ) you would have to hire an attorney and file suit in a higher civil court. The court may or may not award attorney's fees in the higher court, so you may actually end up with more by suing in small claims (depending on how much an attorney charges to file the suit)..
So the Probate court has nothing to do with this even though he is in violation of executing the will. Bill
No, once the heirs agree among themselves to dispose of the car, then it is a private civil matter. Brother, as an individual, is supposed to pay you, not the estate or brother in the role of executor. So this is a civil breach of contract between him and you..
Ok, I know you cant give advise, what would you suggest be the best way for me to go. Small claims or Civil. Thanks
Well...attorneys typically charge anywhere from $150-350/hr for their services. So if it took the attorney an hour to draft the complaint and file it, let's say that is $250. Then you can probably count on at least another couple hours for a hearing and any preparation for the hearing..So I would opine that the attorney/Justice court route would net you less than just filing suit in small claims court..
Thank you
You are very welcome..The best to you and yours..