Q: California my father passed had a living trust we want to buy the house all parties are in agreement whats next

A: How you should proceed depends a lot on the terms of the trust. Without a review of the trust and an understanding of facts such as how many beneficiaries and their relationship, no lawyer can answer your question. A major consideration would be preserving the parent to child reassessment for property taxes, if possible.

A: You should hire either a trust administration attorney or a real estate attorney to assist. The purchase or sale of a home is a very significant financial transaction for most people and professional assistance should be obtained to ensure it is done correctly. Errors in real estate transactions can be very difficult to correct when they are discovered years later.

A: You have two choices. First of all the living trust has a trustee named in the trust document. If there is harmony among the beneficiaries, you can contact a title insurance company to open escrow, prepare a grant deed for the trustee to sign, and arrange for the closing upon funding the purchase price. However, if you want to be cautious, the first step is to prepare a purchase and sale agreement and have the trustee sign it. Then contact the title company, etc. You may need a lawyer to prepare the purchase and sale agreement. Otherwise, if there is harmony among the beneficiaries, then you can close the purchase as described above yourself.