Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in California
trustee selling property w/out consent
hello,
we have a property left to 4 beneficiaries one of whom lives in the house. the trustee is the father of the beneficiaries. trustee is not willing to inform 3 of 4 benef of what he is doing. found out he's selling the house to the one living in the house. we have no idea what's going on. how do we stop the escrow. trustee favors this benef. and we are afraid they have agreed to a very very low price. what do i do
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: trustee selling property w/out consent
request an accounting from the trustee.
see PROBATE CODE SECTION 16060 through 16064 at:
http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/calawquery?codesection=prob&codebody=&hits=20
if you do not receive an accounting, you will need to filed petition with the superior court.
see PROBATE CODE SECTION 16420 through 16421 at:
http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/calawquery?codesection=prob&codebody=&hits=20
Re: trustee selling property w/out consent
Inform the Trustee that you want an accounting of the price and terms of sale before it goes through. Let him know that if he refuses you will file suit for an accounting, a remedy to which you are entitled.
The Trustee is a fiduciary to all beneficiaries. That means he owes each beneficiary the highest standard of honesty and interity required under the law. Like an attorney to his client. If he breaches that trust, the Trustee can be held liable for the economic losses to those affected beneficiaries.