death of father

my father died recently and has left no will, he does however own a boat which he lived on. there are three daughters, can two of us sister sell this boat by majority decision. the younger sister is alcoholic and says ok to sell when sober, but when is on a drinking spree tells my other sister and i she is going to stop us sellling the boat. can she do this, where do we stand. all advice welcome many thanks

No, nobody can sell the boat. It does not belong to any of you. One of you needs to file with Probate Court a petition to be appointed Personal Representative, since he died intestate.

After someone is appointed, they are responsible for matters in your father's estate. Creditors get first dibs on any and all assets, to be used to pay off bills he incurred before death. After that, the residual is split between heirs. This means that if anyone tries to sell the boat right now, without clear title to even be able to sell someone else's property, a lawsuit can be levied against them and they'll be personally responsible for coming up with the money for the value of the boat to pay back to the estate or the creditors.

Get to Probate Court and file for Personal Representative. Take along a copy of your father's death certificate and your birth certificate. Don't omit any heirs on the forms they provide. List all heirs who can lay claim to your father's estate.

This may get convoluted, so be warned.

hi thanks for that, my eldest sister has already been to probate and is now executer of dads estate. all the relevent forms were filled in,he does not owe anything at all he has left no debt. there are only us three daughters. no wife. my sister has had all funds transferred into one account and all funeral expenses etc were paid from that all receipts being kept. we know we have to put notices in the local papers and this will be done. all i am worried about is that my younger sister can stop us selling the boat. any money from the sale will be split 3 ways without argument. we are just worried about her being able to stop the sale of the boat as it will be come an expense for us all to keep it where it is, and the upkeep of it. it is not a small pleasure craft it a humber keel barge about 80feet long. we need to sell the boat. it was my dads wish that it was to be sold and split 3 ways. can she stop us or does the majority count.

If your sister is Personal Representative, she's the only one with any legal authority to sell the boat. She can do that at any time, without input or interference from any sibling, or anyone for that matter, and she can then split the money three ways. Now that all of the expenses have been taken care of, she is free to sell the boat at any time. Tell her she does not need her sister's permission to do so. Good luck.

thanks for that put my mind at rest. will inform my sister she will be very pleased, just want to get the whole matter settled and remember dad without all this hassle.

You're very welcome. My condolences on the passing of your father.

Good luck to you.