Sibling won’t cough up money for estate

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Have any of your other siblings tried reaching out to him?

Sometimes there's pre-existing history of family drama or jealousy/resentment in the family dynamic between certain siblings stemming from childhood.

Maybe have another sibling give it a go, as they may have more success?

Otherwise, I would let them know that they'll receive their 1/5 share of whatever the appraisal of the house is, but if they don't contribute the funds, they won't receive anything that the house sells for that's above and beyond the appraisal/listing price.

One million percent.

OP, just because you are in charge of the trust or the executor, does NOT mean that you have to be the official family go-between.

If you think that one of your siblings might have an easier/more successful way of imploring reason to your brother, then let that sibling have a crack at it... because it's obvious you're not getting anywhere, which will only stand to cause bitter feelings and additional resentment.

Pick your battles, OP.

I'm so sorry for your loss.

[Anonymous]

Lol terrible subject line in light of everything

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Perhaps some estate lawyers will chime in here, but I would not put MY money into an estate house sale. You will pay an estate tax on the proceeds of the house. So basically, the $$ you put into the house will generate a higher value =higher estate tax. Is there any money in the estate? Do you sell off all belongings?

Unless this is a huge estate, they will not pay estate taxes.

There is a lot of misunderstanding about the estate tax. Depends on what state you live in, but many have a high value before the tax kicks in. At the federal level that would have to be one kicka** estate.

[Anonymous]

No matter how bad of condition a house is in, someone will buy it if it's priced right.
Don't do the renovations, just make it a clean sale and divide the proceeds, whatever they may be.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The rest of the siblings should make up the 5k gap. The sibling that didn’t contribute should have 5k deducted from their share of the estate.

+1 Don't let his recalcitrance keep you from moving ahead. Do what you need to do to get the house sold and deduct his part of the prep expense from his share of the estate. As executor you hold the strings on this one, OP.

[Anonymous]

Hm... Is he sick?

[Anonymous]

I do not know if you can reduce his share legally. Just sell the house and move on or move forward with what money you have collected from the others. People all react differently at times like this. The housing market will take a hit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No matter how bad of condition a house is in, someone will buy it if it's priced right.
Don't do the renovations, just make it a clean sale and divide the proceeds, whatever they may be.

This. Honestly, sinking $20k or whatever it is into an estate sale house is a horrible idea. The housing market is s**t right now and you are all putting your money at risk. Don’t repair anything unless it’s dangerous and sell as-is. Be done with it.

There’s not an excuse for not responding to you, but I will say this. A LOT has changed in the last two weeks. People are scared. No way in hell would I fork over 5k of my savings for anything unnecessary right now when the economy is in the tank and no one knows when they might need money. I sort of can’t even believe you’re still expecting all of your siblings to move forward under these conditions.

[Anonymous]

When my friend's parents died, the discussion of putting money in their house before selling came up. It was a beautiful home in an expensive area but wiring and plumbing had not been upgraded for decades, for example. They figured it would be $100k + to do that work. In the end they opted not to do it. The house went for $2 million which was quite a bit less than houses in the neighborhood would go for.

If upgrades were done, the cost of the upgrades would not apply to the estate, right? (State inheritance taxes are a different thing than federal, so state estate taxes could be a consideration)

Anyway, would suggest not bothering unless there are critical repairs needed, but if you do, deduct the sibling's share of the cost from his portion. Let him know up front.

[Anonymous]

Whatever money you put into the house gets reimbursed when you settle the trust. Keep good records of who contributed what amount. Keep receipts. This is an unfortunate time to try to sell a house--but it might be worse in a year or so, so I would move forward and sell it during the peak spring rush.

[Anonymous]

OP again. The house is in terrible condition, we’re simply putting lip stick on a pig and every sibling understood this. I’ve already signed a real estate contract including the work to be completed, no going back and of course the other sibling don’t have extra money sitting around.

If this house sits for a year I’ll need thousands of dollars more for routine bills including property taxes. Once again, this sibling fully understood what he agreed on. Don’t turn my question into a typical DC Urban thread and blame me, I’ve literally done everything since the death and I’m only asking for honesty.

[Anonymous]

I am not an expert, but was an executor. If you and the siblings have to pay real estate taxes and utilities while the house is on the market, keep all records so you can pay yourselves after the sale. Is there anything to sell inside the house (furniture, car etc) to offset the expenses.

[Anonymous]

Just pay it yourself and have the estate pay you back. Why aren’t you just using estate funds to do the repairs?

[Anonymous]

did you try to call him? Is it possible you have the wrong email address? I've had that happen--sibling changed emails or I typed it wrong, or they no longer check that one etc. Call or have another sibling call and find out what's up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just pay it yourself and have the estate pay you back. Why aren’t you just using estate funds to do the repairs?

Np - assuming if the house is in terrible condition, there may not be estate funds. Not every parent dies with lots of assets.