Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in California

Re: probate

Thank you for your posting on LawGuru.com, and the opportunity for me to help you by responding to your posting.

The answer to your question depends heavily on the old saying, "there's no such thing as a free lunch", as well as on the fact that who the heirs are to his estate would be the most important factor for this determination.

If you are the only heir, or if you set aside rent in a separate fund each month, or if you substantially improve the property, you might be "rightfully living in the property". Otherwise, someone may object to you living at the home for free.

I hope this helps. If you do have other questions, feel that you need legal representation, or want legal advice, please feel free to email me directly at rmiller[at]expertlawfirm.com. It's my pleasure to help in any way that I can. Thank you.

Re: probate

If you are the sole heir, sure. Otherwise you must negotiate an appropriate rent and pay the personal administrator of the estate if it is in probate, or the successor trustee if the property was transfered into a living trust.

Re: probate

No. Will anyone object or ask you for rent, probably not. Who are the heirs--did he have a wife, children, other siblings than you, how do you know he did not make a Will or Trust, who is going to sell the property, someone has to be appointed by the court to handle the estate [if all the assets are worth less than $100,000, probate may not be necessary beyond getting someone appointed to handle the estate]. Go to the library and look at some of the Nolo Press books related to the situation which are written for non-lawyers.