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I have received an inheritance from my father's estate, but the executor wants me to return it. What should I do?

    “The executor has failed to fulfill my father's wishes and has exhausted the estate's resources, including tapping into the proceeds from the sale of my family home.” (The subject of the photo is a model.)
    “The executor has failed to fulfill my father's wishes and has exhausted the estate's resources, including tapping into the proceeds from the sale of my family home.” (The subject of the photo is a model.) – Getty Images/iStockphoto

    My father passed away in January 2022. In June 2022, my childhood home in New Jersey was sold and I would receive 20% of my father's 50% interest in the house. My mother kept the remaining 50% as part of her residual trust, which excluded me as a beneficiary.

    My late father's lawyer stated that all beneficiaries had to wait ten months before the payouts from the sale of the house could be released. I was told that if no unknown creditors came forward within that period, my 20% share would be released to me.

    Since my father had no unknown creditors or debts, the attorney sent two separate letters stating that the executor of my father's will (my sister) wanted to expedite my payout and asked me to sign a waiver so that my share from the sale of the home could be sent to me. After two weeks I got a check.

    Two and a half years later: The executor (my sister) fired the original attorney, hired a new one, spent over $75,000 in legal fees, spoke to none of the beneficiaries, and failed to finalize the terms of my late father's will, including the transfer of three other properties assigned to my siblings.

    I am not a beneficiary of the other properties; I was only entitled to a portion of the sale of my parental home. Yet the executor has failed to fulfill my father's wishes and has exhausted the estate's resources, including tapping into the proceeds from the sale of my family home.

    The newly appointed lawyer has demanded that I repay almost half of the amount I received and has filed a civil suit to force me to do so. Since no new creditors have come forward and I am not a beneficiary of the other properties that caused the delay in settling the estate, do I have to repay some of the proceeds?

    Why I left NJ

    Related: My daughter has $500,000 in medical school costs. Can my wife and I afford it?

    You are not responsible for the executor's mismanagement of your father's estate or for the legal costs resulting from your sister's increasingly litigious behavior.
    You are not responsible for the executor's mismanagement of your father's estate or for the legal costs resulting from your sister's increasingly litigious behavior. – MarketWatch illustration

    So much about dealing with your father's estate stinks.

    First, there is a statute of limitations in New Jersey for contesting a will, which has long been far exceeded by the shenanigans with your father's estate. Second, the executor of your father's estate slept on the job and/or had an unexplained insanity. Third, it is not up to you to return the money; it is up to the executor's lawyer to legally force you to return the money.