Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in California
deeds and trusts
This is a 2nd marrage, in which a Trust was formed ,at that time my husband quick claimed the deed to the home to the family trust(in which I am not on)
his is separate from mine (this part)
At a latter date we made some changes in the Trust which allowed me (wife) to be able to remain in the home until my death, if he is deceased b/4 me.
This was done by a para legal of the attorney who set up the Trust for us. We have since signed it and added the new page to our papers.
The ?is , am I fully protected. If I outlive him, and cannot financially keep the house I can sell it and must then split the sale 1/4 to me and to each of his 3 children.
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In the changes we made, it allows me(wife) to remain in the home as long as I can manage the finances of maintaing it. If not I have the right to sell it, and then get 1/4 of the sale price, and the remaing children of his(3) will each get a equel share (1/4)
I feel this is fare. I don't want any big problems with these adult children of his. They are not aware of the changes my husband and I made in the Trust as to this fact, we have now been married 4 years, and he agreed to this change, and that not informing these children would be for the best.
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: deeds and trusts
Your question should be asked of the attorney who prepared this trust, if you haven't already. Also, you may want to have it reviewed by another estate planning attorney, just for another opinion and/or ideas.
That said, the provisions do not sound unusual, with a couple of exceptions:
1) If the house is sold, do you receive 1/4 of the sale amount before expenses and liens are deducted?
2) If you stay in the house for the rest of your life, are you entitled to leave any portion of it to others in your will or trust?
3) Can you replace the house with a different one for any reason?
These are the potential issues I see, without knowing more about the trust--perhaps it addresses them.
Chris Johnson
Christopher B. Johnson, Attorney at Law
614 East Colorado Boulevard, Pasadena, CA
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