One brother who is the named executor of dad's will claims a verbal agreement gives estate to only two siblings. The will gives the estate to all three. What can we do?

Answer 1

First, the brother is not the executor until the will has been filed in probate court and he has been appointed by the court as the executor. Until that happens, he has no power or authority over the estate.

Once appointed by the court the executor must settle the estate according to the provisions in the will and the state probate laws under the supervision of the court. If an executor abuses their authority they are subject to sanctions by the court and removal. They can be held personally liable for their mistakes. The executor has no legal power to change anything. The court will always try to carry out the last will and testament of a testator. It will not allow anyone to make changes. Only a judge has that power and only when the will is unclear or cannot be carried out for some reason.

When a will is filed for probate, there is a period during which objections can be made to the appointment of the executor who is named in the will. In this case, the named executor has already displayed outrageous behavior. If the will hasn't been filed for probate yet, someone should file it now and request to be appointed the executor. The named executor's behavior can be reported at that time. If he was appointed by the court already then his behavior should be reported and a new executor should be appointed.

"Executors" that haven't been legally appointed by the probate court are a serious and common problem. They are only self-appointed and have no idea they have a body of law that governs their powers and actions. If he does what he claims then he can face criminal prosecution. Report him ASAP.