If a mother wills her house car to her daughter, can a lawyer ask her to sell them because there are credit card debt to be paid
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
If a mother wills her house car to her daughter, can a lawyer ask her to sell them because there are credit card debt to be paid
I have a friend that is torn as to what to do as her mother wanted her to have
the mobile home and car and this was stated in the will but her present lawyer is
pushing the daughter to sell both. Can the lawyer force the daughter and
Executrix in the will to sell both.
Asked on September 15, 2017 under Estate Planning, New York
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 6 years ago | Contributor
No, a lawyer cannot force them to sell, though he can advise and *strongly* recommend. If there are credit card debts in excess of liquid assets (e.g. cash in the mother's bank account) to pay those debts, he is right, however, to push them to sell; legally, if the credit card company pursues (does not give up on or write off) the debt, the estate's assets cannot be legally distributed without paying off those debts, which may well require liquidating the assets. Since the debts have to be paid before any heirs can get anything, if the executrix tries to distribute the assets without paying the debts, the transactions can be reversed, a court can order the sale of the assets, and the executrix could even be held personally liable for expenes the credit card company incurred in taking legal action.
The lawyer can also withdraw from representing the estate if the executrix refuses to take his/her legal advice.
The lawyer has been hired for a reason--his or her expertise: the executrix and daughter should listen to the lawyer. The mother may have wanted her daughter to have the mobile home and car, but the law does not let her get them while denying payment to her mother's creditors.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.