Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Re: Executor of a trust . Need to empty house

You will probably have to institute formal eviction proceedings. Look up an unlawful detainer attorney or a landlord/tenant attorney in your area.

Re: Executor of a trust . Need to empty house

You are probably trustee of the trust; I don't think trusts have executors. An unimportant point, anyway.

The rights of occupants of real property depend upon their proper classification as owners, tenants, lodgers, licensees, guests, trespassers, or maybe one or two other possible categories. Further, the term "guest" has two different and conflicting meanings - a paying guest, as at a hotel; and a guest in the sense of a friend who stays at your home for free. There are also subcategories of "tenant," sometimes based upon whether their lease or rental agreement is currently in effect or has expired.

The categories that these occupants might fall into seem to include tenant, licensee and guest. Knowing which is the best fit would require knowing the circumstances under which the occupants came into possession in the first place.

However, despite the fact that the payments of taxes and insurance are below market rate, it sounds like a payment of rent to me, and there is no requirement that a tenant's rent be reflective of market rates. Therefore, I would say that, absent something clarly showing a license creating a non-exclusive right of occupancy, the occupants should as a practical matter be treated as tenants, and should be evicted in full accordance with landlord-tenant law. Proving in court that they aren't tenants would be more costly and time-consuming than conceding them that status and proceeding accordingly.

Your Zip code suggests northern Marin County (I'm in West Marin); there are three eviction services listed in the Marin yellow pages and another three listed in the Sonoma directory. I have no personal experience with any of them and hence make no recommendations, but I would point out that this may be worth exploring as a quick and easy solution. Make sure they indemnify you against any possible backlash from the evicted parties.