Minnesota · ProbateMinnesota personal representative selling a house: the power of sale, the letters and buyer protection

Except as restricted or otherwise provided by the will or by an order in a formal proceeding, a Minnesota personal representative acting reasonably for the benefit of the interested persons may acquire or dispose of an asset, including land, for cash or on credit, at public or private sale (Minn. Stat. §524.3-715(6)). A supervised personal representative has the same powers without interim orders, except that it can't make distributions without prior court order, and any other restriction the court orders must be endorsed on the letters of appointment – otherwise it is ineffective as to persons dealing in good faith with the representative (§524.3-504). A person who deals with the personal representative in good faith for value is protected as if the representative properly exercised the power, doesn't have to inquire into the existence or propriety of the power, and isn't bound by limits in a will or court order unless they have actual knowledge of them, apart from restrictions endorsed on a supervised representative's letters; a later good-faith purchaser is also protected if the property was wrongfully transferred to someone not in good faith (§524.3-714). A sale to the personal representative, the representative's spouse, agent or attorney, or an entity in which the representative has a substantial beneficial interest, or any transaction affected by a substantial conflict of interest, is voidable by an interested person who didn't consent after fair disclosure, unless the will or the decedent's contract expressly authorized it or the court approved it after notice (§524.3-713).