Legal Assistance with Inheritance and Executor

Questioner

Hello, My husband was named in a will as one of the heirs of his aunt. Now an executor/settlement administrator has also been appointed who must arrange everything. Is he obliged to inform us what and how large the inheritance is, so to give us an inventory of the estate. I know that he is allowed to arrange everything alone, but after a year we still have not heard anything.

Lawyer

Yes, he should keep your husband informed. I advise to ask in writing about the state of affairs and to mention a period of time, for example two weeks. Do you have any questions? Please feel free to ask.

Questioner

Are we entitled to an inventory of the estate?

Lawyer

Of course.

Questioner

Are we entitled to an inventory of the estate?

Questioner

Thank you, we have now reached the point where a date has been scheduled to discuss everything. We also know that one of the heirs is interested in buying the house. That is okay for the others but at what price. Probably the person wants to pay the WOZ value but that is certainly 30,000 or more lower than the actual sales price at the moment. A family member, not an heir himself, is executor / settlement administrator and therefore determines the price and must ultimately account and be accountable to the rest. Is he allowed to determine the price on the WOZ value? What can we do at that moment? I know that he can decide everything alone but what if he disadvantages the other heirs by a lower sales price?

Lawyer

The heirs are the ones who are entitled to the inheritance. The executor is the one who manages the estate and prepares it for distribution. As long as the executor is working, the heirs cannot perform any actions regarding the inheritance without the executor. What does this mean? For example: that the deceased's house cannot be sold by the heirs without the cooperation of the executor. Incidentally: the executor cannot sell the house without the cooperation of the heirs if this falls outside the executor's task (or if the sale is not necessary to pay debts). As long as the executor is not ready, the heirs cannot proceed to the division of the inheritance and are not authorized to sell the house. When the executor is ready, the inheritance can be divided (with or without consultation with the notary).