Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in California
I am trustee over parents tust. The parents house is in the trust. One sibling moved into the house supposedly for 3 to 4 months and have been there over a year. He is changing locks, etc and not allowing access to the other siblings. As trustee what can I do. I have sent letters and made telephone calls to him letting him know that is all of our parents house and he had no right to lock us out.
4 Answers from Attorneys
If he does not voluntarily leave, you will have to file an unlawful detainer action against him. You can then charge his share of the trust for the rent for the period of time he lived in the house.
I can only agree with Ms. Rouse if you have determined that they do not have a right to occupy the house . That requires a review of the terms of the trust. You need to see an attorney in person about this.
As part of the unlawful detainer you can seek damages equal to lost rents. I have also had some success with seeking an order from the probate judges surcharging that beneficiary's share of the trust corpus for lost rents, waste (i.e. damage to the house) and legal fees. This scenario is becoming fairly common in the present economy so probate judges are used to seeing it and doing what is right by the other innocent beneficiaries. What you do, do quickly, or the probate judge might think you are contributing to the problem.
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