🔑 NY: Courts Will Not Direct When a Fiduciary Must Sell an Asset

Beneficiaries often assume that if a will directs a fiduciary to sell an asset “promptly” or “as soon as reasonably practicable,” a court can step in and order the fiduciary to act on a specific timeline. In New York, that assumption is usually wrong.

People often ask whether a beneficiary can force an executor to sell an estate asset right now; in New York, courts usually will not impose that kind of sale timetable.

Even where a governing instrument clearly contemplates a sale, courts are generally reluctant to manage when or how a fiduciary carries out that transaction. Timing, pricing strategy, and market conditions are typically treated as matters of fiduciary judgment—not judicial control.

That does not mean fiduciaries have unlimited discretion or can delay indefinitely. But the remedy for unreasonable delay is usually liability, not a court-imposed sale schedule.

This post explains how New York courts draw that line, and what beneficiaries can and cannot expect when challenging delay in the sale of estate or trust assets.