Purposes for which property may be sold, mortgaged, leased or exchanged.
Mo. Rev. Stat. § 473.460
in effect473.460. Purposes for which property may be sold, mortgaged, leased or exchanged. — 1. Real or personal property belonging to an estate may be sold, mortgaged, leased or exchanged under court order for any of the following purposes:
(1) For the payment of claims allowable against the estate;
(2) For the payment of any allowance made to the surviving spouse and minor children of a decedent;
(3) For the payment of any legacy given by the will of the decedent;
(4) For the payment of expenses of administration including court costs;
(5) For the payment of any gift, estate, inheritance or transfer taxes assessed upon the transfer of the estate or due from the decedent or his estate;
(6) For any other purpose in the best interests of the estate; or if it would be burdensome to the heirs or devisees to distribute the personal property or the real estate in kind.
2. Real and personal property may be sold or mortgaged under order of the court when necessary for the purpose of making distribution of the estate or any part thereof.
3. Personal property of the estate shall be exhausted before real estate is ordered sold for the payment of the obligations of the estate unless the court otherwise orders.
(L. 1955 p. 385 § 169, A.L. 1957 p. 829, A.L. 1965 p. 636, A.L. 1980 S.B. 637) Effective 1-1-81 CROSS REFERENCES: Conveyances to urban redevelopment corporation, when, 353.120 Homestead allowance, property not to be sold, when, 474.290 (1963) Subdivision (6) does not apply to situations of concern only to heirs and therefore neither the fact that it is desirable to sell the land because it cannot be satisfactorily partitioned in kind nor the fact that the real estate would bring a better price at a private sale by an administrator could make "necessary" the sale of real estate under subdivision (6). McIntosh v. Connecticut General Life Insurance Co. (Mo.), 336 S.W.2d 409. (1974) Held that failure to allege facts in support of statutory grounds for sale of property does not deprive probate court of jurisdiction. Coons v. Stokes (A.), 514 S.W.2d 33.
Source: Open US Law by Vaquill AI (CC BY 4.0)URL: https://revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=473.460Fetched: 10/17/2026