Walls and Ceilings - Repairing/Replacing Drywall Corner Bead

I am in the process of preparing my home for sale. On a couple of walls, the outside corner bead has split away from the drywall due to the house settling.

Do I need to remove the old corner bead?
Do I need to remove all of it?

If so, what is th best way to remove it without causing a huge mess?

Again, If so, when replacing it, how do I feather the new one since there is already dried compound on the drywall from the old corner bead?

If I don't have to replace it, please tell me how to repair it.

Thank you.

Hello & welcome to the forums.

Are these outside corners actually taped or is there just metal corner bead there? How large are the cracks? Have you ever done any drywall finish work before?

If you've just got metal corner bead, it's just your skim coat that's cracked and could probably be reskimmed.

It's been a little while since I have been in this house, but I think that it's probably just the metal corner bead.

the amount of settling, however, is more than just a hairline crack, but more like a 1/8" gap in spots. Do you think I can still just re skim it and be okay?

Thanks again

Actually your best bet for that type of situation, might be to go with metal flex bead.

Here's a link to USG's page on this product (http://www.usg.com/Product_Index/newprod_flexiblecorners.asp)

This product comes in rolls or in a precut sticks. It's available from the big box stores or from a local drywall supply or hardware stores. Best of luck.