Agree there are some questions to be answered, but as an executor (trustee) of a trust or will, the executor (trustee) can only fulfill the wording of the will or trust until it is legally honored or dissolved. Just speaking in that light, he may have been obligated to hold the shares until the all parties names in the will or trust are legally satisfied. I was the executor/trustee (POA) of my mom's estate, but I couldn't act on anything without her legal authority or lack of her mental and/or physical capacity to manage my family's estate.