Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in California
Sole Heir & Successor Trustee to Deceased Mother's Estate and Trust,
Recently, my widowed mother passed away. Mothers house is registered in the name of her Trust, but she never designated a beneficiary to receive the house after she died inthe corpus of her Trust. She did however, name me as the Successor Trustee in her Trust. She and my father had three children, but I am the only sibling left alive.
Outside of the house, the only assets she left behind are her tangible seperate property items worth very little.
As Successor Trustee, I don't need nor do I want my Mothers house. Can one of the volunteer attorney's give me a little guidance
on what I must I do to get rid of the house?
3 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Sole Heir & Successor Trustee to Deceased Mother's Estate and Trust,
I need to review the trust and the current deed to determine your options. It is unusual not to have beneficiariaries listed in an addemdum. Contact me diretly.
Re: Sole Heir & Successor Trustee to Deceased Mother's Estate and Trust,
I don't know what you mean when you say she registered the house in the name of the trust. Is the house in the name of the trust? If you do a title search in the County Recorder's office, what does the last deed show the name of the owner to be? If it is not in someone's name "as Trustee" of the trust, it is not in the trust.
If that is the case, the house will have to be probated. There should, based upon your question, be a trust document and probably a pour over will. You should contact an attorney to assist you. I am in Los Angeles, and if you want you can contact me. Legal fees required, whatever the situation is, can be paid from the proceeds of your mother's estate. It should not be much.
Re: Sole Heir & Successor Trustee to Deceased Mother's Estate and Trust,
Do you have a copy of the trust? While your Mother may not have specifically mentioned a beneficiary for the house, she most likely named a residuary beneficiary. In that case, the residual beneficiaries would most likely be entitled to the house as inheritance. While your siblings may not be alive, depending on how the trust is worded, their beneficiaries might be entitled to a portion of the estate (meaning if they were residuary beneficiaries, depending on the trust their heirs might have a stake).
I would recommend hiring an attorney to assist you in trust administration. They can look over the trust and tell you what needs to be done, they will also help you with the distributions as well as issues with the house and any probate.
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