Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in California

Value of property from probate.

Two siblings and myself are in the final stages of a probate of propery from our deceased mother. The main (only) article of said probate is her residence. Our mother passed away in 1997. My brother had an appraiser come out in 2000 to appraise the property in terms of its value at 1997. The 1997 appraisal value given was $170,000. Now that it is 2001, I was wondering at the distribution of properties for probate, would my sister and I receive the 1997 value of the property or its 2001 value? If my sister and I are only entitled to the 1997 value of the property, then I have another question. That is, would it then be possible to elect to share title on this home (with our brother), and then at a later date elect to take our shares out via the selling of the property or having the remaining property owner (our brother) buy us out? If this is possible, in such an instance, wouldn't the value of the home then be based off of its current appraisal value? And again, if this scenario is possible, is there any timeframe for which my sister and I would have to hold title to the home before electing to release it? As always, any advice you can provide is greatly appreciated.


Asked on 4/15/01, 3:17 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Alex Scheingross Law Offices of Alex B. Scheingross

Re: Value of property from probate.

Assuming that your mother's will left things to you in equal shares, distribution should be in equal shares to the three of you, based on the value of assets AT THE TIME OF DISTRIBUTION!!!!!!!

Your brother (I assume he is the executor) could either sell the house and distribute the money, or could distribute the house as 1/3 owners to each of you. As a practical matter, unless you 3 are on good terms and can agree as to what you want to do with the property, I would suggest that the property be sold, or one of you buys the other 2 out, at CURRENT MARKET VALUE.

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Answered on 6/18/01, 12:14 am


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