Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in California
Is the original Trustor of a trust the owner of the property that funds the trust? If this is true, can the original Trustor ever be evicted off of trust estate property? Can the original Trustor live at the trust property until he dies?
4 Answers from Attorneys
Depends upon the terms of the trust, but usually the Trustor has the right to occupy the property rent free and cannot be evicted.
the terms of the trust decide what rights anyone has. Normally the trustor sets the trust up so that they can use the property during their lives, but they can intentionally or unknowingly put in language that deprives the of the usage [but if it is a revocable trust, they can change the trust whenever they want unless the trust specifically prohibits that].
Also, it depends on who is doing the evicting- if he/she is being evicted because they defaulted on a loan secured by the property, it doesn't matter who the owner on title is or what the trust says. Or, the property could be the subject of a condemnation action, or an action to abate a nuisance. If the evictors are trying to evict solely based upon the language of a trust created by the person being evicted, see above answers!
Excellent and thorough answer by Mr. Seidler. You have to look at all the facts and players.