Executor being unreasonable

[adrian222]

hello, myself and my elder brother are joint executors of my deceased father's estate, which comprises his house, many shares and some cash. His will divided the estate equally between us (with some cash also going to our children). i wish to have the house (which my brother says he has no objection to) and, hence he would have the majority of the shares (to the same value as the house), with the rest being divided equally. I have applied for Probate and it should come through soon. As part of the probate, and for Inheritance Tax purposes, we had to give a valuation of the house, which i arranged by getting 3 estate agents valuations, 2 were the same, the other was £100K higher. I used only the 2 lower ones when i worked out the IHT due to HMRC. Anyway, HMRC haven't challenged the valuation.
However, as you know, when it comes to dispersal of the assets, they must be dispersed on the basis of values at the time of dispersal.
My brother has averaged the high and only one of the low valuations to get a value of the property which i estimate to be about £100K more than it's worth. As this is a falling market, house prices have come down, and, in any case, many estate agents will value properties high to get them on their books. I have offered my brother that we get a Red Book valuation done, which should be independent, as they are all RICS members, but he says he does not see the point: he just wants to sit on the property until the valuation comes close to the valuation he has deduced.
Can i force my brother to be reasonable and honour my fathers wishes in a timely way?

[atticus]

There is not a lot that can be said other than that you and your brother need to find a way of reaching agreement.

If nothing else - and I can see that you may not like this - you could give up on your plan to take the house and sell it instead. Cash is easier to value and divide.

[adrian222]

thanks but that is very disappointing......surely, in more serious cases than mine, a spiteful executor could not be allowed to effectively block the dispersal of the estate, especially when there are other beneficiaries involved?

[atticus]

There are circumstances in which beneficiaries can force executors to act.

You are looking for a particular type of action, being the transfer of the property to yourself for no cash payment. As I said, an outright sale to a third party may be easier to achieve if you and your brother are unable to see eye to eye. I have the impression that you each think that the other is trying to get some advantage. An arms length sale to a third party should dispose of that element of mistrust on both sides.

[adrian222]

thanks very much,....yes, i suppose we each think the other is being unreasonable....the house has much sentimental value to me, so a third party sale is not what i hope for. I guess these aren't the circumstances in which a dispersal of the assets (including me to have the house) can be forced? I guess it would cost too much? Incidentally, my brother is not interested in the house.
If i cannot accept his terms, and prices drop (as they are), he will want to sit and wait: what happens if he (or i) die before dispersal.We both have wives.

[atticus]

sell to a third party. Get this over and done with. Enjoy your married lives.

[adrian222]

ok, but should we both agrree to sit on the house for a while, what would happen if one of us dies before dispersal of the estate?

[dslippy]

I cannot see that he is being unreasonable, let alone spiteful.
Your first job is to do what the will says. if all involved parties agree someting different, then, you can do that but there is no obligation to reach such agreement, and frankly that is all that has happened.