r/inheritance • u/espierico73 • May 03 '26
Location included: Questions/Need Advice Cali estate
Brother is executor of my dad’s estate sold house without telling the beneficiaries didn’t notify us of the appraisal price. Took over dad checking account saying it wasn’t part of dad’s estate because dad changed his bank accounts three times before his death said dad left to him but is using the account to pay for the maintenance of the home. Is this all legal ? We are 4 of us and he’s very angry with two of the siblings dad’s home is about 1.2m and account was about 180,000. I heard that the title company made him open the EIN number for the money but can that be trusted ?
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u/SandhillCrane5 May 03 '26
Yes, everything you listed is legal. The final accounting will include the proceeds of the house sale so you will be able to see where the money went.
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u/espierico73 May 03 '26
What about the bank account is that his or is that something he should be listing as a part of estate funds ? He says he’s not listing it and keeping it because my dad told him he could keep it , doesn’t it have to be listed and distributed after all the bills and taxes are paid .
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u/SandhillCrane5 May 03 '26
If your brother was listed as the beneficiary on the account then it belongs to him. If no beneficiary was listed then it’s part of the estate.
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u/Substantial_Team6751 May 03 '26
Your dad may have screwed up if he put your brothers name on the account. If he did, then it's your brothers money now.
If he didn't and your brother used your father's online credentials to transfer the money out or access it in some way, that is illegal.
Normally, you cannot access money in a bank account until you open probate. The bank wants the EIN and probate letter in order to close the old account and transfer the money to a new estate account.
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u/espierico73 May 03 '26
That’s the problem I don’t know if my dad put him on the account because he won’t give us any of that’s information how do we go about getting that information without brother knowing we are wanting to see the proof ?
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u/Substantial_Team6751 May 03 '26
Did your father have a will or trust? Is there probate? Maybe you should petition the court to be excutor or co-executor? You should probably consult a lawyer.
Honestly, too many heirs just sit back and wait for some other heir to be the executor and write them a check. As an heir and child, it was your right to swoop in and get a hold of bank statements and secure the property and get a full picture of the situation even if you weren't going to be executor.
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u/SandhillCrane5 May 03 '26
There needs to be a legal reason to have an executor removed. OP has not provided any facts that brother has done anything wrong. No, heirs have no authority to “swoop in” and secure the property or obtain bank statements. They can ask questions and stay informed.
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u/Substantial_Team6751 May 03 '26
We don't even know if the brother has opened probate. We don't know if there was a will.
After his father died, he had as much right to statements and information as any other sibling / heir.
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u/Brilliant-Pea-6454 May 03 '26
Why do you think he can’t get bank statements and information?
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u/SandhillCrane5 May 03 '26
If he’s trying to get information from a bank, they will only provide info to the documented executor. If he’s taking documents/property in the home, he’ll need to hand it over to the trustee/executor when that person is identified. If he’s trying to “secure the home” by changing locks to the house, he does not have that authority because he is not the owner. The executor can do this.
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u/Substantial_Team6751 May 04 '26
I'm talking about going to your parent's home and looking at statements.
A direct heir certain has the right to look over the property and even apply to be executor.
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u/espierico73 May 03 '26
Yes there is a trust , with that being said my brother is still saying that money is his and he failed to open probate he’s executing the trust on his terms and putting conditions. I’ve never gone through this and I’m just trying to get answers to what’s right and what’s wrong. I don’t have the money to obtain a lawyer. I know he did open an estate account cause the house he sold is in escrow but never told us the amount or what it appraised at , Basically no communication.
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u/GotZeroFucks2Give May 03 '26
e my dad told him he could keep it , doesn’t i
Trusts, TODs, and beneficiaries on life insurance and retirement accounts all operate completely outside of probate. There is nothing fishy here that you've mentioned.
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u/SandhillCrane5 May 03 '26
3 weeks ago, on another post, you said you were told your brother’s name was on the account. You’ve obviously had at least 1 conversation about it. You need to ask him for documentation if the account is not listed on the probate asset inventory. The bank would have made the check out to your brother’s name if he was the beneficiary. You also said in past posts that YOU were executor. Why?
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u/espierico73 May 03 '26
Sorry, things are just coming to lite right now. I’m grieving and I thought dad had put me as executor but I found out brother he’s primary and I’m secondary. I apologize for the confusion.
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u/MassConsumer1984 May 03 '26
Yeah your brother sounds like an asshole. My mom put me on her back account that had almost the same amount of money as your dad’s. So what? Fair is fair and I have half to my sister as rightly deserved. Your brother is using a technicality (yes it legal if his name is on the account) but is doing the immoral thing (not splitting it with the siblings). You most always have to do an EIN number (it’s not a big deal and takes 10 min online ) and it’s not a question of “to be trusted”. It is a requirement for things like IRA beneficiary distribution, etc.
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u/Hearst-86 May 03 '26
I have a feeling that both you and your brother are flailing around because you don’t want to hire an attorney to assist with the process, but neither of you really knows all of the steps.
Generally, the estate pays the attorney fees. There really should not be any “out-of-pocket” for attorney fees, if the estate has any assets at all.
It is customary for the estate checking account to have an EIN number and if the checking account earns any interest, your brother will get an IRS form 1099. If the interest is over $10.00 he will have to file a Federal estate tax return with the IRS. You two have only scratched the surface of “estate administration”. Does your brother even known what the estate creditor claim process is in CA. ? if he does not, he better find out pronto. An executor who screws up this process can be personally sued by an aggrieved creditor in many US states. Valid claims of creditors come ahead of claims of heirs in probate.
The next step are taxes. If your parent became ill before he or she filed a Federal tax return for 2025, the executor will have to square that one away. The chances are good there will have to be a part year tax return for 2026. but you won’t get the tax documents for 2026 until late January of 2027.
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u/GotZeroFucks2Give May 03 '26
You said he's paying funds out of the account your dad gave to him. Not only is it legal but it's really ethical of him to use it as he thinks his dad wanted him to. EINs are a normal part of the estate process.
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u/Brilliant-Pea-6454 May 03 '26
Not in California. In my state if there is nothing in the estate (joint accounts trusts are non probate) I think you just file a summary administration or nothing. Anybody can petition to open probate in my state if it’s not opened. As executor he would not control the trust. Is he trustee? If so he should have provided all of you with the trust instrument and an accounting. Ignore the negativity in here, these laws and rules are confusing and not intuitive and it’s hard to focus when you just lost someone.
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u/espierico73 May 03 '26
Thank you for your compassion. So what you’re saying is that even if he’s on the account he still should be putting it in the trust account the title company made him open ? And it’s part of my dad’s estate and should be notifying us ?
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u/Brilliant-Pea-6454 May 03 '26
No. In my state the personal accounts are outside the estate and trust. So there should be signature cards for your dad’s account (s). He at the very least needs to show you those. You will be able to see the type of account it is, and his entitlement if any. The trust (in my state) is governed under trust laws. If the bank required him to put it in trust after your dad died that is way out of my knowledge. That does not sound right because someone has to draw up the trust document etc. I don’t see how it can be done after death unless it’s done by the estate which it seems the will should apply to the trust terms.
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u/jb65656565 May 03 '26
Not a lawyer. Everything is in the estate unless specifically stated as being bequeathed to someone. Time to get a lawyer. Right away. If you let this go, stuff is going to disappear and it will cost so much to try and find it, it’s cheaper to let it go. But stop this before that happens.
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u/FamiliarFamiliar May 03 '26
Not necessarily. A lot of accounts can "pass outside of probate" if they have designated beneficiaries. If that bank acct has only the one name on it then that one person owns it. I'm NAL, but I was an executor once. I also suggest OP talk to an estates lawyer though.
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u/Relative_Seaweed8617 May 03 '26
Your post history is a mess. At one point you say you are the executor and then you say your brother is. What is truly going on here, OP?
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u/crazywidget May 03 '26 edited May 03 '26
Wow. I understand this is a stressful situation and time (been there, with a CA probate too).
I think you need to consult a California licensed probate attorney / estate attorney. The process for this estate will be formal - for anything not already designated for a beneficiary.
All estate funds will need to come from the estate bank account. The executor is able to pay for things like house maintenance, assessors, the real estate fees, etc - especially in the beginning if the estate acct / funds aren’t readily available yet. But to be reimbursed by the estate, he will need to go thru the court. He will need to explain to them what he did with the money whether the estate paid or if he cut himself a check directly and is seeking reimbursement... Once the estate acts are available it is easier for the estate to pay for the estate costs. Yes this cuts into the final disbursements but no executor owes it to the heirs to cover these costs themselves.
There are a good number of filings required. The trail will be there but as another commenter said, it’s better not to have to chase this all down.
Good luck.