Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Re: Change of ownership

This can't be answered without more facts.

Is the owner of sound mind, and capable of making decisions?

If yes, use your best judgment. If she disagree, ask her to talk to you about it, or get someone else to be the trustee.

Something is missing as well, when you speak of the "wrong hands".

Please e-mail, or call, with additional facts.

Re: Change of ownership

As holder of the power of attorney, you're called the "attorney-in-fact."

If you're now the successor trustee, it would seem that the trustor can no longer handle her financial affairs. I would question her decisions because of that, even based upon the sketchy information you have provided.

If the property were to be transferred at this time to a third party, there's a good chance it could be reassessed at the present value, as opposed to the value the trustor has enjoyed over the past many years. Taxes could increase substantially, depending on the relationship of the intended to the trustor. The purpose of the trust is to ensure that the trust property be transferred swiftly to the beneficiary pursuant to the trust's instructions.

If the trustor was of sound mind at the time she executed the trust and still is, for peace of mind, she might want to obtain a written doctor's examination and report in case, at some point, some family member decides to challenge her competency at the time she made the trust. Good luck!

Re: Change of ownership

I agree with Mr. Bennett's answer and would like to add a couple of thoughts:

1) If you are the trustee, you are the legal owner of the trust property. The person who is trying to get you to remove property from the trust is probably more accurately described as the beneficiary of the trust.

2) Proper advice requires a reading of the trust language, to determine what the trustor (settlor/person who created the trust) had in mind and expected the trustee to do. A trustee must be governed by three things: the language of the trust, the law, and the trustee's wisdom as to how to operate within the other two.

3) If there is more than one trustee, or more than one beneficiary, the analysis must take these factors into consideration and the analysis becomes a bit more complex.

On the whole, I think you would be best advised to take the trust documents, the lawGuru answers, and related papers including requests from the beneficiary to a local wills, trusts and estates lawyer in your community, and pay for a brief consultation. An ounce of problem prevention is worth a pound of cure in a courtroom down the line.