(a) Upon the filing of the inventory the executor or administrator may make an application to sell the personal property of the estate for the purpose of paying the funeral charges, expenses of administration, the claims, if any, against the estate, and for the purposes of distribution. The court shall grant such order if, in its judgment, it is for the best interest of the estate, and shall direct and prescribe the terms of sale upon which the property shall be sold, whether for cash or on credit.
(b) If any articles of personal property have been specially bequeathed, they are to be exempt from the operation of the order of sale so long as any property of the estate not specially devised or bequeathed remains unsold or appropriated to the purpose specified in subsection (a) of this section.
(c) When a testator has specially bequeathed any specific article of personal property, or given any legacy by will, and there is not sufficient personal property, besides such specific article or the value of such legacy, to pay the funeral charges, expenses of administration, and claims against the estate, the executor or administrator shall obtain an order to sell the real property sufficient to make up the delinquency, in the manner provided in this chapter.
(d) When the proceeds of the sale of personal property have been exhausted, and the charges, expenses, and claims specified in subsection (a) of this section, have not all been satisfied, the executor or administrator shall sell the real property of the estate, or so much thereof as may be necessary for that purpose. If any of such real property has been specially devised, it shall be exempt from the operation of the order of sale in the same manner as personal property specially bequeathed.