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Judge orders private auction of estate items; administrator to conduct sale June 20
Summary
A chancery judge ordered a private sale for personal property from an estate inventory after heirs failed to agree; administrator and auctioneer Odell were given direction to conduct an auction June 20 and remit proceeds to the estate.
Dixon County Chancery Court directed an estate administrator to conduct a private auction of personal property after heirs were unable to reach an agreement over distribution.
Court-appointed administrator reported conflicting requests from heirs and asked the court for instructions. Judge David D. Wolfe set a private sale to be conducted by auctioneer Odell at the administrator's office on June 20 at 2 p.m., with the requirement that winning bidders pay in verified funds the day of sale and that the auctioneer keep itemized records for the estate.
Nut graf: The estate inventory included framed photographs and boxes of loose photographs; the judge said framed pictures should be bid as individual items while boxes of loose photographs may be sold in lots. Wolfe said an auction would provide a simple, verifiable mechanism to distribute items and reduce ongoing attorney fees and conflict among heirs.
At the hearing the judge said he would prefer heirs to reach agreement, but ordered the private sale if parties could not settle, and instructed the administrator and auctioneer to provide notice to all known heirs. The court emphasized that proceeds would be deposited into the estate account and distributed according to the final probate instructions once heirship and any DNA testing were resolved.
Ending: The court set the sale for June 20 at 2 p.m.; the administrator will publish notice to heirs and maintain an itemized record of sales and remittances to the estate.
