In California, a sister and brother inherit an estate consisting of a paid for home and a bank account of approximately $200,000. The sister...

Question

In California, a sister and brother inherit an estate consisting of a paid for home and a bank account of approximately $200,000. The sister is the executor. She refuses to sell the home and to date (mother died 3 years ago) has not provided the brother with an accounting of the account. Does the brother have any recourse?

Answer

Of course. The remedy is through the probate court where the estate is situated -- most likely the county where the home is located. The process is a wee bit different, depending if there is a probate or whether there was a living trust, but the dispute is essentially the same.

A harder question is what remedy to seek. That should be answered in a private consultation with an attorney that handles probate and trust dispute matters. Other details of such a proceeding likely will take you too far astray in this type of message.

Answer

You refer to this as an "estate". Sometimes people use the term estate to refer to either an inheritance through a Will or a Trust. If this is through a Will, then a Probate should have been opened and the Estate administered, which would include providing you with notice, etc... If the inheritance is through a Trust, then the terms of the Trust determine when the Trustee is supposed to make a final distribution.

Either way, you will probably need to go to Court to force your sister to act. You should meet with an attorney who can review the Will or Trust and the Court proceedings (if any) and then advise you of specific next steps you should take.