Q: Co-Trustee sister is living in my deceased mothers' house and paying property taxes on the said house out of the Trust?

A: Hello. I have handled many cases with essentially the same situation. Mom dies and a daughter/son who is living there refuses to move, refuses to maintain and repair, refuses to list and sell the house and of course all the trust beneficiaries are upset.

A: Hello. I have handled many cases with essentially the same situation. Mom dies and a daughter/son who is living there refuses to move, refuses to maintain and repair, refuses to pay rent, refuses to list and sell the house, refuses to divide up and distribute the trust assets and of course all the trust beneficiaries are upset.

The first thing to do from a lawyer's standpoint is to read the trust and see what it says about how the house is to be handled.

The next thing to do is to send a proper legal demand stating what you want and citing the various CA laws that apply. What you want and demand depends upon what the trust allows the co-trustee in possession to do.

You usually have to wait 60 days after sending a demand letter to see if the trustee does what is demanded in the letter. If she doesn't, then you have a legal right to file a lawsuit (trust petition), with the probate court in the county where the co-trustee resides-in your case the county where the house is located.

While the house is still owned by the trust, the trustees are responsible to maintain the house, to pay the property taxes and insurance and in some instances collect rent from whomever is residing in the house. The trustees CAN use money in the trust to pay for these things. So your sister can in your situation use trust money for payment of property taxes and exterminator expenses. This is generally the law UNLESS the trust requires her to pay those things herself.

The real issue in cases like this is to get her out of the house and to get the house sold. That requires a proper legal demand and then most likely a trust petition/lawsuit. The courts are so clogged with cases that if this is in Los Angeles County or Orange county you have to figure about a year from the time you file the petition until you have a trial for a Judge to decide the case. In some instances, you can get some court relief sooner but this gives you a general idea. So, the longer you wait on something like this, the worse it gets.

You should immediately retain legal counsel to send a proper demand letter and then to file a court petition if necessary.

If the trust allows her to remain in the house there are still some things to demand and do to help the situation.