Q: In Oregon, the deceased transferred real property into Trust, can not find Trust doc there is a Will w/single benefactor
A neighbor who was not married and had no children left a will naming me as sole benefactor and personal rep of her estate. I was also health care rep, and durable POA. The will was signed in 2008. I have found that the real property is in the name of a living trust with property transferred in 2004. I have been unable to find any trust document or reference to one. I have contacted the attorney (now retired) who did the will in 2008 and there is no notation in her fill about a trust. There is a mobile home on the property which title has not been transferred to the trust which makes it personal property. Value of real property 145-160k depending on how soon I can get it on the market. Personal possessions value at roughly 40k.
There are five siblings and two half siblings all deceased, leaving a yet to be determined number of nieces and nephews who she wanted nothing to do with in the last years of her life.
What is best course of action? Small estate filling?
A:
You don't put a problem this complicated on Justia and shop for free advice. Just not going to happen. You are going to have to pay an Attorney to help you sort this out. I suspect that the answer lies somewhere in the Uniform Trust Code that provides a way to go to court when a Trust is not functioning as it was intended to and an action called a Quiet Title Action which will settle who owns the property. The problem you will run into if you don't clear this up through some type of court action is that no title company will want to issue title insurance for to property so you wo't be able to sell it.
I would suggest you go to local banks and credit unions and see if your neighbor had any safety deposit boxes that she might have forgotten about. Maybe her estate planning documents are in there. Also check the deed that put th property into a living trust. See if it is notarized and call the State of Oregon to see if you can trace who the notary was and who the notary worked for. That might lead you to the Attorney who prepared the revocable living trust.
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