Q My two brothers and I are the equal beneficiaries of our mother’s estate, which included a house, as well as credit card debt. I am the executrix of the estate. We had an appraisal done on the house and it was valued at $337,000 in “poor condition.” My one brother and I are doing some major repairs to the house as well as paying all the expenses to maintain the house, such as property taxes, insurance, utilities, etc.
My other brother has no interest in repairing the property or paying any of the expenses to maintain the home, and is interested only in receiving his one-third share whenever the estate is finalized. (He had lived in the house for a year after my mother’s death, rent-free, with the understanding he pay all the expenses. We asked him to leave, and when he did we found out that he caused a lot of destruction. He also did not pay the expenses of the house as he had agreed).
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Is he entitled to receive one-third of the value after the repairs? I believe once the house is sold, we should be able to reimburse ourselves for the expenses, and split the proceeds three ways. The brother who is working on the house with me believes this is fair considering all the work we are putting into the house, and that we should get a greater share.
Can you give us any advice regarding the proceeds of the sale of house?
A Because you are the executrix of your mother’s estate (called personal representative in some states), that means you are in your state’s probate court. You should talk with your attorney about your question. In some cases, you may have to get specific court approval to reimburse yourself.
But your proposal is more than fair. You and your brother have spent a lot of money making the house presentable for sale. That also means that you have increased the value of the house, and clearly you should be reimbursed for your efforts.
Generally, courts will not reimburse you for the time you spent working on the house; they will, however, allow a reimbursement of your actual — and documented — expenses.
That means that you should keep all receipts for the work done on the house. You should also take pictures of the “before” and “after” condition of the house.
Keep in mind, however, that the credit card debt — and other bills that your mother may have owed at her death — will have to be paid off from the house sale proceeds. You may also have to pay inheritance taxes. Your attorney and accountant can assist you in determining what you have to pay.