Q: How soon after my mom dies can we sell her home? The home is in a revocable trust in California.
A: The language of the trust should answer your question. Most revocable living trusts (RLT) name a successor trustee. The language of most RLT's normally give the successor trustee broad discretion to hold onto the property or to sell it. There is typically no strict timeline.
A: If you are confident that all of your mother's creditors have been paid or that there are sufficient other assets to pay those bills, the successor trustee can usually sell the house right away (depending on the rules in the trust). If you are not 100% certain about whether there are any lurking creditors out there, it is safest to wait at least one year from date of death to sell the house. There are ways to shorten that period for creditors to make claims. A probate attorney can help you with that.
A: Unless the trust provides otherwise, you can sell the home any time. The question is whether you can distribute the sales proceeds to beneficiaries or if the money must stay in the trust account. All debts, hospital bills, taxes, fees from accountants, lawyers and trustees, etc. must be paid BEFORE the money can be distributed to beneficiaries, unless there is plenty of money and no question that all bills can be paid with other assets.
Justia Ask a Lawyer is a forum for consumers to get answers to basic legal questions. Any information sent through Justia Ask a Lawyer is not secure and is done so on a non-confidential basis only.
The use of this website to ask questions or receive answers does not create an attorney–client relationship between you and Justia, or between you and any attorney who receives your information or responds to your questions, nor is it intended to create such a relationship. Additionally, no responses on this forum constitute legal advice, which must be tailored to the specific circumstances of each case. You should not act upon information provided in Justia Ask a Lawyer without seeking professional counsel from an attorney admitted or authorized to practice in your jurisdiction. Justia assumes no responsibility to any person who relies on information contained on or received through this site and disclaims all liability in respect to such information.
Justia cannot guarantee that the information on this website (including any legal information provided by an attorney through this service) is accurate, complete, or up-to-date. While we intend to make every attempt to keep the information on this site current, the owners of and contributors to this site make no claims, promises or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness or adequacy of the information contained in or linked to from this site.
