An existence theory for solutions of a parabolic problem ut – div(A(x)∇u) + q(x)u = f(x, t) for x ∈ D and t ∈ (0,T] under a dynamical boundary condition σ(x)ut + ∇uT A(x)n = g(x, t) for x ∈ ∂D and t ∈ (0, T] is developed and a spectral representation formula is derived. It extends the results of [2] to problems with variable coefficients. We are interested in the case where the dynamical coefficient σ is a sign-changing or negative function. The one-dimensional parabolic problem is well-posed in the space C([0,T], H1(D)). This is not true in higher dimensions. Our approach is based on the spectral theory of an associated elliptic problem with the eigenvalue parameter both in the equation and the boundary condition. By means of the theory of compact operators the spectrum is analyzed. Qualitative properties of the eigenfunctions are derived, e.g. strict positivity of the principal two eigenfunctions follows from a Harnack-type inequality. An interesting phenomenon is the "parameter-resonance", where for a specific value of the mean of the dynamical coefficient σ(x), two eigenvalues of the elliptic problem cross.