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Exe of will......

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  • 25-07-2006 4:09pm
    #1
    Freedomfighter
    Closed Accounts Posts: 135 ✭✭


    Not looking for advice here just thinking out load......
    Granmother died leaving her eldest daughter exe of her will. Her wishes were for her house to be sold and the proceedes to be split up between her children.
    House on the market for 4 months with a few bidders. But the exe of the will is not happy. Eventually a buyer comes in with a very good offer. Again the exe of the will is not happy. And has taken it upon herself to put the house back on the market. There are 6 children in all. Do the whole family not have to agree on this or is it a right of the exe of the will to do this.
    Can anyone explain what the duties of the exe of a will has.
    Cheers
    FF


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    #2
    dermot_sheehan
    Closed Accounts Posts: 2,062 ✭✭✭dermot_sheehan


    Basically the Executor holds the legal interest as trustee for the creditors of the estate and the beneficiories of the will. As Trustee they owe a duty to the creditors to satisfy their claims, and to the beneficiaries to get the best price for selling assets. The law actually imposes a duty on the eldest daughter in this scenerio to get the best price.

    The beneficiaries could sue for breach of trust, one example of breach of trust would be if the executor were to fradulently sell the assets at an undervalue. Another is if there is undue delay in winding up the administration of the estate.

    There is no timeline for this, but s. 62 of the Succession Act requires the leave of the court to institute proceedings within a year http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/ZZA27Y1965S62.html This doesn't mean there's a year deadline, if the executor could argue they're taking a reasonable period of time (in seeking to get the best price) there is no cause of action. S. 62 rather presumes that estates that are in administration for 12 months or less are taking a "reasonable" period of time.

    Other then suing for breach of trust however, the benificiaries have no legal control over the estate. The legal ownership rests in the executor who provided she doesn't act in breach of her duties as trustee, has complete freedom of action


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