Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in California

Re: trustee of will - house sits vacant - liability?

Thanks for your excellent question. The trustee is responsible for preserving & maintaining the property, including security. Is vegetation creating a fire hazard? Is someone checking on the property regularly? What measures are in place to discourage vandals? etc. If the trustee is unreasonably negligent, he might be personally liable. Other issue, generally the trustee is required to make the property productive. Renting it out would be one way to do this. However, there might be legally sufficient reasons to keep the property vacant at this time. Need more info in order to answer your question properly. But hope this helps. Roberta Avrutin, Beverly Hills, CA

Re: trustee of will - house sits vacant - liability?

Genereally the trustee is required to maintain the property in his or her charge, they have a fiduciary duty to do so. One of these may be obtaining the proper insurance to protect the property if there is damage, such as you state - a fire. There is definate probability that this person could be found personally liable if not obtaining the proper insurance was a breach of their duty. This is something that wouold have to be explored further, and more details provided, for a more in-depth response.

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