Can a Beneficiary Challenge an Executor's Decision to Sell Estate Property in British Columbia?
This answer covers the law of British Columbia.
Whether you can challenge an executor's sale depends on the facts, and a sale generally cannot be challenged for unnecessarily depreciatory conditions unless the price was inadequate. A personal representative has the same authority over the estate as the deceased would have had if living, subject to any contrary intention in the will and to any enactment. Land without a right of survivorship vests in the personal representative, who holds it in trust for the person beneficially entitled.
Where a trustee holds a power of sale, they may sell on the conditions they think fit, unless the trust instrument shows a contrary intention. A beneficiary generally cannot challenge a sale because its conditions were unnecessarily depreciatory, unless those conditions made the price inadequate. Jointly owned land with a right of survivorship is different, because it does not devolve to the personal representative.
If you are worried, the law gives you some routes. You can apply to have the personal representative's accounts passed, apply to remove them, or ask for leave to start proceedings on behalf of the estate after making reasonable efforts to get them to act. Which step fits depends on your facts, so it is worth confirming with a lawyer.
Key takeaways
- An executor generally has the same authority over the estate as the deceased would have had, unless the will or an enactment says otherwise.
- A beneficiary generally cannot challenge a sale because its conditions were unnecessarily depreciatory, unless those conditions made the price inadequate.
- An executor can petition the court for directions, and a person with an interest can apply to have accounts passed or to remove the executor.
- Jointly owned land with a right of survivorship does not pass to the personal representative, so the rules on sale of estate land do not apply to it in the same way.