Listing and Selling a Deceased Estate

Overview

Often real estate agents are appointed to sell deceased estates, which can be unnerving at times, particularly when dealing with grieving parties, siblings, and relatives of the deceased.

This webinar will assist sales/buyers agents and agency principals on how to identify potential risks and problems when dealing with parties who are involved in this sensitive area and ensuring instructions received are lawful. Topics covered will include:

• Confirming which person, or people, have the authority to deal with the estate property

• Understanding the roles of stakeholders and legally empowered decision makers

• Documenting and executing a lawful sales (auction) engagement and what legal documents should the agency retain as authority to act

• The entitlements of the beneficiaries if intending to purchase the estate of the deceased

• Listing and selling a property before probate is granted

• What happens if a vendor dies during the sales process / before the auction date

• Who has the right to sell a property on behalf of an intellectually disabled person.

Designed for:

This webinar is designed for Residential and Commercial Sales Agents, Buyers’ Agents and Valuers.

Expected outcomes:

Participating in this webinar will offer you insights into the following topics:

• Understanding the process of selling a deceased estate
• How to take instructions from clients
• Be able to identify potential risks and problem

Speaker

Paul Traianedes
Special Counsel, Tisher Liner FC

Paul practises in Wills, Estates, Guardianship, Trusts and Estate Litigation.

For 17 years, Paul has advised both professional and non-professional trustees and administrators in relation to their legal obligations regarding the management of deceased, and personal, estates. He also represents executors and beneficiaries in relation to estate claims, estate property disputes and breaches of Powers of Attorney. Paul is responsible for setting the Victoria legal precedent for the establishment of “de-facto step-children” as an eligible class of beneficiary to contest an estate, in the now well established case of Bail v Scott-McKenzie [2016] VCS 563. He is still yet to work out whether this was a good thing, after having to defend executors against such claims, since then.
 
Paul says that dealing with a deceased estate is not about sitting in a room with relatives reading out a Will as seen in the movies (which, is an American thing, we don’t do that in Australia).  The only difference between dealing with a deceased estate and the affairs of a living person, is that one of them has died. The fact that a person has died adds to the complexity of how that person’s affairs are managed moving forward. Over the last 10 years, the area of estate administration has become increasingly complex, particularly with blended families, with most people not understanding that they take on the role of a trustee when named as an executor. The obligations are onerous and the penalties for breaches of fiduciary duties are significant. Getting the right advice can mean the difference between being financially protected by the estate, or being personally sued. For 3rd parties, such as Real Estate Agents, Banks and Insurers who become involved with an estate, getting the right advice means knowing who you can deal with, what you are able to do and avoid being joined as a defendant to any estate litigation.

 

Prices

*This webinar will run for approximately 60 minutes.