From our “Ask a Question” Mailbag: Will Directive to Sell Your Philly House

Most Recently Updated July 15, 2018.

“My husband died several years ago, so I now own the family house. My children get along fairly well, but they should not own this house together. It would cause conflict. There is little else that I own, so I want to make sure that the house is sold and that there is no fight about it. How do I do that?”

Will Directive to Sell Your Philly House

Two things come to mind.

First, in circumstances like this, I would place specific language in the will instructing the executor to sell the property for fair market value. A child may buy the property, but it must be without any loan from the estate. Therefore, the child is treated like any other buyer.

To further diminish the chances of your children trying to stop this sale, I would put in language that any extra costs incurred by the estate because of a child delaying the sale will be taken out of that child’s share of the estate.

Who should be the executor?

Next, you should consider naming a neutral person as executor. A neutral party, such as your lawyer or accountant, will move forward with the sale because it is their duty and responsibility, where a child may delay and hesitate which will cause family conflict. This might increase the cost of your estate, but avoiding a family fight is worth more.

More Planning Questions?

Will directives are only a piece of the Estate Planning process. By all means, if you want to learn more, please read my more detailed article, Estate Planning Everything You Need to Know.

In Conclusion: Will Directive to Sell Your Philly House

I hope that this article was helpful in explaining will directives. Further, I included links to even more detailed information on my website so you can learn more. Therefore, please contact me and let me know how I did. Certainly, your comments and questions are welcome!

Let our Estate Planning lawyers help walk you through what can be a confusing process. To begin with, call to speak to one of our experienced estate planning lawyers.  By all means, our lawyers are ready to answer your questions. In fact, feel free to contact our office for a free consultation. Ultimately our goal is to make the process as painless as possible!

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Tags: Estate Planning, Estate Planning Attorney, Estate Planning Lawyer, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia