Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

That is going to depend on whether your brother knew about the fire damage. One of the risks of buying from an estate is that the trustee, executor or administrator is not held to the same duty of disclosure as a direct owner. Not having the benefit of having owned the property and occupied or managed it, the estate is only held to the duty to disclose actual known issues, not "knew or should have known," as is the case for an actual owner. If, however, your brother actually knew of the damage and failed to disclose it, then he not only acted wrongfully toward the buyer, but also breached his fiduciary duty to the the estate and he would be responsible to the estate for any and all costs, fees, expenses and damages paid by the estate. If you have reason to believe your brother had actual knowledge of the fire damage issue, it is time for you and any other beneficiaries/heirs to obtain their own lawyer to at least monitor the case on your behalf and make sure that your brother compensates the estate for any losses he causes.

I agree 100% with Mr. McCormick's answer.