Clovis, CA Estate Planning Law Firms & Lawyers

1. Is this a trust or an estate? A trustee manages a trust. An executor manages an estate, under supervision of the probate court. 2. One of the highest responsibilities is not to enter into transaction with the trust and to deal fairly with the beneficiaries. 3. He is NOT allowed to put the property into his own name. 4. He has no valid reason for putting it into his own name. 5. If this is an estate, then he can sell the property with the sibling's consent; the proceeds will be in the estate. 6. If this is a trust, then he can sell the property directly from the trust; the proceeds will be in the trust. Then he can divide and distribute the proceeds as appropriate. 7. Does the sibling consent to hiring the trustee's wife as broker? Will she charge no more than 5% as commission? Is she an appropriate broker, familiar with estate and trust sales and active in the neighborhood of the property? (for example, if the property is in Davis and she mostly works in Sacramento, she likely is not appropriate for a residence. Same for Hayward and Oakland, or for Anaheim and Costa Mesa. Probably hiring the wife is not a big problem, but changing title to the property is! 8. Note: If the property is valued at $250K and the total estate is $900K, then both parties might agree that he gets the property plus $200K, while the sibling gets $450K. If they agree, then ,of course, he gets the property and can do with it as he pleases.

This sounds like a legal battle that will play out in court - which controls, the will or your Letters. If you gave notice to your brother and he did not admit the will to probate in a competing petition at the time you filed yours, you are probably in the driver's seat. If you knew there was a will before you filed your petition and they can prove that, your brother may be in the driver's seat. Unless your brother backs off or you all can come to an agreement, the court will decide.

If they are co-owners they have a right to enter the premises. If you want them to stay out, you need to enter into a tenant in common agreement, lease or rental agreement giving you exclusive possession.