Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in California
Trying to change terms of trust after the fact
Our recently deceased mother owned
50% of a valuable home, and her
husband, our stepfather, owned the
other 50%. Both of their trusts
state that the surviving spouse can
exercise an option to buy the 50%
owned by the deceased spouse from
the successor trustees (us), or if he
chooses not to buy the trustees out,
the property is directed to be sold in
cooperation with him. Our
stepfather now claims he wants to
continue to live in the house, but
does not want to buy us out. He
also claims that the appraisal we had
done is too high and he wouldn't buy
us out at that price (even though
we've already paid taxes on that
amount).
Has he any right to ask us to
negotiate the things that both of
their trusts stipulated? Do we have
to sue him?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Trying to change terms of trust after the fact
in order to answer this question fully and completely, the trust agreement(s) must be reviewed and additional facts obtained. you should retain an attorney to advise you regarding this issue and, if necessary, file a petition with superior court to enforce the terms of the trust(s).
Re: Trying to change terms of trust after the fact
Depending on the situation, your step father might be able to apply for a homestead (check out my answer to another question http://www.lawguru.com/cgi/bbs/mesg.cgi?i=92613409). Other then that, if everything was described correctly, your stepfather has to follow the agreement laid out in the trust. However, if your step father is not willing to move out, it will most likely take a court order to force a sale.
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