Mom has a court-ordered guardian who wants to split her possessions among myself and one sibling. I think they should be sold for her care.

Hooray!  Someone who thinks like I do--that the sale of the possessions goes for the care costs!  And that is exactly what I did when I sold my mom's house, and her furniture and appliances!  The money is in the account earmarked for her CARE COSTS and they are great and increasing as her disease process and her age increases.  I AM the recipient of her worldly possessions WHEN SHE DIES--but she ain't dead yet!  And the costs are going up!  If there is anything leftover, the I will get it--WHEN SHE IS DEAD, and NOT beforehand!

I would sell it or give it away any way that your mom does not have to pay for it or keep it....

You say: "I do not believe this is in the best interest of my mother. Why would her things be given to us when they can be sold for her care? And if we cannot agree on the item - why should my mother pay for storage and this settled at her death?"

I see several choices for you and your sister:
1) take the items guardian marks for each of you and attempt to sell them yourself.
2) have all items moved to storage, but you and sister pay the storage fee until you resolve the "split".
3) have all items donated (at least the ones the guardian doesn't plan on selling.)
4) put out a free sign - if there is a garage, it could be put there and let people take stuff.
5) pitch anything guardian isn't holding for sale.

Any money you **might** make from selling the items can be used for mom. Either give the funds to the guardian for mom's care or use it to purchase anything mom might still enjoy.

For the most part, unless you know something is worth some money, most home furnishings and other items are pretty much not worth much. As others have said, it could cost MORE to try to sell everything than they are worth (exception would be yard sale, as this would only cost you time/effort.) Although some items may appear to be antiquey, it likely isn't and there are tons of them out there, a dime a dozen. Anything worth keeping is something that YOU like or that has some sentimental value to you. Anything else, donate, put it out for free or yard sale it.

In one reply you say you want 2 items, in another you want to walk away and let sister have her way. YOU have to make that decision. If you decide you do not want to argue and agree to give up the "stuff", go to the meeting and say that. Suggest anything sis doesn't want go to donation, not storage. If guardian insists on "splitting" and using storage, offer to pay for the storage and then get rid of the stuff asap. A free sign at the garage or side of the road can sometimes work! My son has done that a lot with his wife's grandmother's "stuff" that has been sitting for many years in the house they rent from her mom!! The "stuff" generally disappears quickly!

Cleaning out mom's condo, my brothers took what they wanted. I only took a few items that could be useful. Most of the other "stuff" either went to neighbor for church rummage sale (random items), Goodwill (mostly clothes), a place near mom's that took furniture, including decent mattresses, or was trashed. WAY too much was hauled here to my place by one brother (most of her clothes - several truckloads!! - went to Goodwill, but at least 5 boxes of shoes, maybe another 4-5 boxes/totes of clothes that were missed, fake plants galore, linens, tablecloths, placemats, napkins, both linen and paper, etc etc etc are all cluttering up my place!!! I did NOT want this stuff, most should have been donated or tossed. I had enough to do without dealing with this crap, getting mom in a safe place and managing everything for her care, and just now, several years later, am going through it to make room that I need in my garage!)

If all else fails, PITCH IT ALL!

Do all the siblings feel the same as you? Is it possible there are certain items in the house that someone would want because it has family/sentimental value to a certain person?

I don't understand why anything (not wanted by family member) would be put into a storage instead of just having an estate sale for leftovers. That part is puzzling and a waste of money for monthly storage fees.

Clearly as he want to sell the house he needs it empty. Perhaps his view is that over the years you have looked after your mum and should be "paid" for this - that would be difficult but if you sticker items in the house you are interested in he can give a valuation to them and then decide if that is in line with what he thinks you are "owed" or should have from the estate if mother has no will. I think he ought to sell items that no one is interested in but he needs to get a valuation of them to do that, this can be done at the house or at a facility - it probably depends where the sale of the house is what he needs to do. You have a generous attitude towards the items being sold for your mother, but most people have some items which have sentimental value to them. In a number of states of your mother dies intestate the house would go for any medical care costs, but anything left would be split between any souse 50% and children 50% between them - so he could also be reckoning the figures would fit with that. Why not ring him up and ask?

This arrangement should ensure that nothing gets put into storage. No need for that. If you want to sell the things given to you, you can. Then, that money can be used for your mom as you see fit. This is easier than you are perceiving it.

Let this conversation be a lesson to us all. Start getting rid of the extra "stuff" that we have in our homes. Sell, donate but don't make your kids be the ones responsible for it all. My dad had an absolute basement full of power saws, tools etc. as he was a cabinet maker, furniture builder etc. He could have sold them when he quit building but did he? NO! So then at 93 when we moved him and had an estate sale he felt he was ripped off for how little he got. Well...I fault him for not getting rid of them when he had a full brain and time. But we got the blame of course!

More than likely, the sale of said items are NOT going to bring in enough $$ for her care. What you deem as valuable probably is not. I learned this myself, but my mother had already passed away.

I think property should be sold and money used for her care - isn't that correct fiduciarily speaking? Now, if we are talking about stuff that is not saleable, basically just junk, then it may be a different matter. Can you check with the court that appointed guardian?

Thanks everyone for your answers - I need some help with a question. I will try to clarify.

We had the meeting yesterday to split the possessions. It was about how I expected. It did not go well. The plan was to make 4 piles of possessions.

1. A pile for me that my sister has to agree on
2. A pile for sister that I have to agree on
3. A pile that we cannot agree on (this means these items will be put in storage)
4. A pile that we don't care about. (to be sold)

The guardian will petition the court for the items to be distributed about for 1 & 2.
The things that we cannot agree on, the guardian has said she would put in storage, where my mom will pay for storage.  And sell the last items that are don't care.

Now my sister has indicated that she wants the entire house and will not agree to me having anything of value.  I offered her the entire house if she would agree to the one item I cared about and she declined.

HERE is the question:  1. Would a judge approve the storage fees for my mom to pay for almost the entire house and a very large garage?  I don't think this is in the best interest of my mom?  Should the things be sold?

You say you offered sister everything in exchange for one item, I wonder if your proposal is brought directly to the judge whether they might find in favour of that rather than the guardian's proposal of storage (that's why they call them judges after all).

I don't think there is anything ridiculous about the pain behind this battle over possessions. In fact, the battle isn't even about the possessions, it's about what the possessions represent as awards to each individual for his or her respective filial virtue and worth. It's hideous. I just want it to stop.

StoneMan, you could stop it now by... stopping.

Just imagine it, for a few minutes. You stop, by waïving any right to or interest in any of the chattels (I'm not forgetting the desk or the safe, or why they have importance, I'm just asking you to imagine that you consign them to the past). What then? What more could anyone do to you?