Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in California
My father back in 1964 or 1965 made a deal to purchase a home. It took him until about 1993 to finish paying it off and this was only because my husband and I assisted him. My father invited us to move him with him as we had assisted him with improvements the house needed. Somewhere before all the renovations were complete my father and I had a falling out. We were in the process of making a name change on the deed from the person he bought it from to his and ours. Well since we were not there he did not ever finish making the change. My father died back in January of 2003. On the day of the funeral my five siblings all agreed to relinquish their right to the house, since we had such a lot of money already invested into it. Well little by little we began working on it more all money out of our pockets and work from my husband and children to maintain the property. Well since the home was neither in my father's name or ours we were unable to pull any permits so the work got red tagged and all work had to cease. This was back in 2006 or 2007. At that time I began seeking legal assistance to get the house into my husband's and my name. I spoke with our attorney about maybe adverse possession because the only other way to file suit, naming all my father's heirs to take possession of the house. Well our attorney advised against it and so the suit began. I again spoke with my siblings and all were still in agreement, but after all legal actions began one of my siblings changed their mind. Stated that they would like their portion of their inheritance. She contacted my attorney who informed me that because of her objection to my taking ownership he could not proceed past getting the house into my deceased father's name and we would have to come up with an agreement to proceed. I explained that we had all receipts and proof of all the work done and his bill and would be glad to honor her request for her share of the inheritance as long as she was willing to assist with the incurred expenses for the improvements done. Our attorney said that we would have to work that out. I have since talked to my sibling and she informs that she is not willing to acknowledge the money we would be out and that she is asking only for her portion of the property value. I'm now at a loss. Our attorney is now a judge, has not made any referral to another attorney, and no mention of the money already paid to him as to if we owe or if there is a credit. We will be starting all over again minus the one filed document he was able to get for us, which is probably the most damning since it gives my sibling her right to the property at on expense to her. Sorry so long, but my questions is...what can be done? Do I have to suck it up and just pay out, or is there anything that can be done? So far the other four siblings stated that they stand behind me, but do stated if she is going to get pay out, they too would like theirs, which I completely understand. Thanks for your time.
1 Answer from Attorneys
There is a lot that can be done, but you have a very complicated situation that has been very badly muddled since the 1960's. It sounds like nothing was handled propertly from then until now. You are going to have to hire a new attorney to sort this out and deal with it for you.
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