[Muji]

My oldest sister is executor of my Uncle's estate. My Uncle lived on a farm and sold the land recently but he had a lot of valuable equipment as assets in his house.
I found out that my sisters took all the valuable equipment they wanted (4 or 5 big screen tvs, SUV, stereo equipment, etc) and sold what they didn't want and after the sale of the assets, they went on a three day spending spree in three different cities. Prior to the sale of these assets, my sisters had very little or no money (I loaned one of them $100.00 a month ago). As one of the beneficiaries mentioned in my Uncle's will, I find myself confused about the way this process works because it seems that my sisters have made out like bandits while the rest of the beneficiaries are watching them from live it up. Can they do that? Can they take whatever they want and sell the rest and spend that money any way they want?

[cdad]

No they can't do that. As executor they are suppose to follow the rules of your state for the distribution of property. In some cases all property is sold and then the pool of money is distributed. Its done that way to prevent fighting. Also any debts the estate carried with it are supposed to be paid off.

Was there a will? Was probate opened on the estate? Are there records of the sales that took place and an inventory of the items including pictures ?

[AK lawyer]

It appears that the sister may be guilty of theft. If she has not been issued letters of administration, she had no right to take and sell these items. If she has, ask the court which appointed her to submit an accounting. If a bond was posted, you may be able to go against the bond, assuming she will be unable to pay back the money she took.

[Muji]

Thank you for the quick response.
As I mentioned, I am one of the beneficiaries mentioned in my Uncle's will (one of six). Since I don't live in the town where my Uncle lived, I can only assume probate was opened on the estate. I do not know about anyone taking inventory or pictures. I had recently visited the farm so I have a very good idea of most of the valuable stuff. Last month, I visited my sister (and to give her money) and I noticed that most of the valuables (big screen TVs, computers, electronics, etc) were now being used at my sister's house. My sister told me that she would be selling the stuff left at the farm. My sisters came to my city (the third of the three cities) three days after the sale to go shopping and they spent a ton of money that they didn't have before the sale (on clothes, jewelry, books, etc). I got very suspicious that something didn't seem right regarding the distribution of my Uncle's assets (estate).

[joypulv]

Please do as suggested. Adding to the story isn't changing the advice.

[AK lawyer]

... Since I don't live in the town where my Uncle lived, I can only assume probate was opened on the estate. ...

No. You don't have to assume, and to do so may prove very costly to you and the other heirs.

If you were not sent formal notice of the opening of probate, it probably hasn't happened.

Call the probate clerk in the area (County, usually) where the testator lived. Ask if a probate petition has been filed. If not, call the police. And call an attorney in that area about getting legal representation.