Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Maine

Re: dads loan used the van as collateral

Has the Court appointed a Personal representative or an Administrator for the estate? That individual has a fiduciary duty to maximize the estate and wrap matters up in a reasonable fashion. That individual has the authority to act for the estate.

Who is the loan with on the van? A local bank? a National bank? It seems odd to me that if the loan payments are not being made that there cannot be some agreement reached about turning the van over to them, or their agreement to a sale of the van to someone who may be willing to take over payments. If the estate does not have sufficient assets to pay for the van then the accounting should be produced and given to the bank since their only recourse is a claim agaist the estate or repossession. The debt does not become a personal debt of the beneficiaries.

The brother in law apparently has a claim that needs to be paid outright from estate funds, or maybe he would be willing to take over van payments in exchange for title being signed over to him.

The other possibility is for you to find the best sale price and present a written sale agreement, get a Kelley Blue Book Value, and the estate accounting showing that the estate cannot pay the claim, and sent it all to the bank and request a "short" sale agreement where they agree to release their lien for less than the whole amount, and the rest of the debt is forgiven. The Bank may do it if they feel that they will lose less this way than a repossession.