Can the personal representative sell the house even if some of us don't want to?
Answered by Chris Deutsch, Founder & Editor
Licensed Minnesota Realtor #20382264 ·
The short answer
Legally — usually yes. In a typical unsupervised Minnesota probate, the personal representative has authority to sell estate property without a unanimous family vote, unless the will restricts it.
On stage The 60-second answer
Captions on · Transcript below
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Chris's video answer is on its way. Until then, the short answer above says the same thing.
The transcript posts with the video.
The longer answer
But "can" and "should" are different questions. Heirs aren't powerless: you can object, ask the court to step in, or petition for supervision if you believe the PR is mishandling things. And a wise PR doesn't govern by authority — they govern by daylight. Share the appraisal. Share the carrying costs. Put the offer on the table where everyone can read it. In my experience, most "we can't agree" problems are actually "we haven't seen the same numbers" problems. The legal lines belong to your attorney; I'm not a lawyer, and this isn't legal advice.
What I bring to a divided family is the thing that's hardest to argue with: a defensible number, explained the same way to everyone. That alone settles more fights than the statutes do.
The next department over
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