Can the executor rent property that’s part of an estate for his own personal gain or spend any money or sell property from the estate that has not gone through probate?
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Can the executor rent property that’s part of an estate for his own personal gain or spend any money or sell property from the estate that has not gone through probate?
My brother is executor to our father’s
Asked on May 11, 2018 under Estate Planning, Minnesota
Answers:
S.L,. Member, California Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 5 years ago | Contributor
You can petition the probate court to have your brother removed as executor and have another executor appointed. You can sue your brother for conversion which is theft in a civil case.
Your lawsuit against your brother should seek a constructive trust. A constructive trust will require your brother to return all proceeds he has misappropriated to your father's estate. If he has made any acquisitions with the stolen funds, those items or their value are to be returned to your father's estate with the constructive trust remedy.
If your father's Will is lost or was destroyed, then inheritance will be determined by intestate succession. Intestate means dying without a Will.
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