Quote Originally Posted by Simplemind View Post
It was very clearly stated in our trust paperwork that I had a legal responsibility to take action and get the most value for everything I was selling. If I didn't my siblings could take action against me. I took that seriously. My sister wanted to drag her feet and do the estate sale ourselves. I knew it would never ever get done. All items in the house were vulnerable while the house stood empty. Even though they weren't thrilled at paying for somebody else to do the sale I still convinced we ended up with more than had we done it ourselves. My brother would not come out to assist, my sister lasted two hours and left in tears, my DH and I lasted day and night all four days.
In our case, there is a trust and a will, set up by my folks years before they passed. I have never seen copies of either so have no idea what exactly is specified. I am working on getting a copy of the will through the county but the trust paperwork is solely in my sister's hands.

My sister has to be aware that as an executor, she could be legally liable for the estate losing value but thinks that neither one of us would ever take action. Maybe knowing my sister has written the attorney might send the message that she might not be off the hook if she messes this up.

Quote Originally Posted by iris lilies View Post
How much is coming out of the estate to maintain this property? It HAS to be costing something.
@iris lilies, minimal utilities are still on: gas for heat, electric and water. Landscaping company maintain the lawns and yard during the summer months, however they might be doing snow removal as well. There's been one round of property taxes paid last year and 2018 taxes are due this spring (2 installments). There are two plots, one on which the house sits and the small side yard which is smaller so taxes are significantly lower on that one.

The seller's marked in the area last year was pretty good but there are rumblings that this year might not be so good.

I don't understand why sister is sitting on this, willing to pay the costs. Besides being the executor, she is also a beneficiary so she's opting to get less for herself. Furthermore, when she was in charge of our parents' finances (she had financial POA) the first thing she did was review and slash the costs. Stressed out about Dad running out of money. And yet, she's willing to pay to sit on the house? Boggles my mind. There's something else going on and I suspect it has to do with the issues between her and my youngest sister. Youngest sister has complained about the estate being "held hostage".