Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

I am the Trustee of my sister's Trust. I notified the lender of my sister's death and provided them documents that I was the Trustee of her Trust. They did not accept it because I wasn't the "Inter vivos rider" and I didn't understand that until today. Apparently, when my sister remortgaged (CA) last March, she created a Deed of Trust. I didn't notice at first, but there is a "trustee" named, but it is not me. It lists that the Deed of Trust is only for the remortgaged amount and not the full value of the house. My question is: As Trustee of my sister's house, do I have a legal right to put it up for sale? Or, is it the person listed as trustee on the Deed of Trust?


Asked on 2/24/22, 2:45 am

1 Answer from Attorneys

A deed of trust is essentially just a mortgage. It is separate from the trust your sister set up. The trustee of a deed of trust only has the power to exercise the trustee's powers enumerated in the deed of trust, which essentially is to foreclose and sell the property. As long as the loan is kept current, the trustee of the deed of trust has no powers. Unless there are other issues, you should have little trouble selling the property. If the house is in the name of the trust, you will have to file a notice of death of trustee with the county recorder. If it is not owned in the trust, you will have to open a probate. As part of the escrow for the sale, the lender will sign a request for reconveyance which the trustee on the deed of trust is obligated to provide. The reconveyance of deed of trust will be recorded in the chain of title to give clear title to the buyer.

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Answered on 2/25/22, 9:06 am


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