Sibling Inheritance Disputes: When Brothers and Sisters Fight Over Estates

Few things destroy family relationships faster than inheritance conflicts. When parents die, siblings who grew up together often become bitter enemies fighting over property, money, and personal belongings. Understanding common sibling disputes and how to resolve them can help protect both your inheritance rights and family relationships.

What it looks like: One sibling demands more than their share, takes valuable items before estate settlement, pressures the executor for early distributions, or challenges the will hoping to get more.

Resolution: The executor must treat all beneficiaries fairly according to the will’s terms. If one sibling oversteps, others can hold the executor accountable or take legal action against the sibling who took assets improperly.

The problem: Estate administration often requires all beneficiaries’ signatures on certain documents. One sibling may refuse to cooperate, stalling the entire process.

Solutions:

• Executors can proceed without unanimous consent for most estate matters
• Court applications can compel cooperation or override refusal
• Legal action against obstructive beneficiaries for costs caused by delays

The most common dispute: Multiple siblings inherit the house but disagree about what to do with it.

Typical scenarios:

• One wants to keep it, others want to sell
• One sibling lives there and refuses to leave or pay rent
• Disagreement over selling price or timing
• One can’t afford to buy out the others
• Disputes over who pays property taxes, maintenance, and utilities

Legal remedy: Any co-owner can apply for partition and sale, forcing the court to order the property sold and proceeds divided. Courts almost always grant these applications.

When parents leave more to one child:

• The favored child received the house while others got smaller cash bequests
• One child got everything for providing caregiving
• Parents left more to a struggling child than successful siblings
• One child was disinherited entirely

Challenges arise when:

• The will seems unfair or out of character
• Siblings suspect undue influence by the favored beneficiary
• Questions exist about the parent’s mental capacity when making the will
• The will was changed shortly before death

Grounds for challenge: Lack of testamentary capacity, undue influence, or improper execution – not simply that the distribution feels unfair.

Conflicts intensify when one sibling is both executor and beneficiary, creating potential for:

• Favoring themselves in discretionary decisions
• Taking executor fees that reduce other siblings’ shares
• Delays that benefit them (living in estate property rent-free)
• Lack of transparency about estate finances
• Self-dealing by buying estate assets below market value

Other siblings’ rights: Demand full accounting, challenge improper actions, apply to remove the executor, or seek court supervision of estate administration.

As a beneficiary: Get independent legal advice, demand proper accounting from executors, document everything, don’t sign releases without understanding them, and act quickly if you suspect problems.

As an executor: Treat all beneficiaries equally, communicate transparently, keep detailed records, get independent appraisals for valuable assets, and consider hiring an estates lawyer for complex situations.

Facing sibling inheritance disputes? Our estates litigation lawyers help resolve conflicts between siblings, challenge unfair wills, force property sales, and hold executors accountable. Contact us for a confidential consultation – 416.901.9984 or info@pintoshekib.ca.