Family Ties: The Good, The Bad And The Ugly

[Gramto6]

@EtheltoTillie I love the term  "didn't fledge". That so perfectly describes my brother!! No guns involved in my family situation either.

So far this is what I have learned: I googled how to find out who owns property in  CA and was led to an article in the SF Chronicle. (Had to pay $.99 for a 6mo trial to get past the pay wall.) Plugged in his address and it shows his name with TR after it. Meaning Trustee I assume. So he is still the owner.

Then I finally got past all the "go to this page" prompts and found the actually County Clerk listing for the home. It shows first transfer when my mom and dad divorced, quit claim, then the second when my mom died as Declaration Trust with his name as TR. However my name does not appear anywhere on the whole list of entries.

I am thinking with that TR designation they will have to go to court records to see who is in the trust? That is where my current info needs to be I think. I know my name is there but just that. I've moved twice since then, the second one out of state to MT. I know y brother will say he has no idea where I am and that is true,  on purpose.  I want to have it in the documents on file, I don't want anyone to have to search for me.  Now that I know this much, I am going to call the recorder's office again and ask again what do I need to do to have that info available to people looking at the trust for any reason.

I hope it is going to be a relatively simple thing to do.

[EtheltoTillie]

25 minutes ago, Gramto6 said:

@EtheltoTillie I love the term  "didn't fledge". That so perfectly describes my brother!! No guns involved in my family situation either.

So far this is what I have learned: I googled how to find out who owns property in  CA and was led to an article in the SF Chronicle. (Had to pay $.99 for a 6mo trial to get past the pay wall.) Plugged in his address and it shows his name with TR after it. Meaning Trustee I assume. So he is still the owner.

Then I finally got past all the "go to this page" prompts and found the actually County Clerk listing for the home. It shows first transfer when my mom and dad divorced, quit claim, then the second when my mom died as Declaration Trust with his name as TR. However my name does not appear anywhere on the whole list of entries.

I am thinking with that TR designation they will have to go to court records to see who is in the trust? That is where my current info needs to be I think. I know my name is there but just that. I've moved twice since then, the second one out of state to MT. I know y brother will say he has no idea where I am and that is true,  on purpose.  I want to have it in the documents on file, I don't want anyone to have to search for me.  Now that I know this much, I am going to call the recorder's office again and ask again what do I need to do to have that info available to people looking at the trust for any reason.

I hope it is going to be a relatively simple thing to do.

So many families have situations like these with one child that needs more help than others.  Elderly parents are burdened with this. In the Long Island case, the mother clearly did not make right decisions.

In your case, I think that if your brother is the trustee, then his name is on the deed.  I don't think you can add your name to the deed.  If the trust specifies that on sale you get a certain amount, then he has to do the right thing at that time.  If he is not in communication, you may have to decide to get in communication with him, maybe using a lawyer.  I still think you should consult with a lawyer or a title company rather than calling the deed recorder and trying to do it yourself.  I don't think that is the right way to go.   As a lawyer, I am a proponent of using a lawyer to do certain things, especially if you re out of state.  Unless your nonpracticing lawyer daughter can help you. 

[Gramto6]

Thanks @EtheltoTillie! You are probably right about the lawyer.  I  guess I was just hoping to avoid any costs. I will see if DD can do something at this point. She is busy, Chief of Police in the next city and all. But she said she would look for someone so I guess I am at that point now. At least he still owns it, so he hasn't cheated me out of my share yet!!

[isalicat]

13 hours ago, EtheltoTillie said:

There’s a house across the street from my weekend house with similar issues. The mom died at 95 several years ago. The three children could not agree what to do with it.  Fortunately no firearms were involved. The house had deteriorated substantially over the years and even had the yard uncared for with no mowing for months at a time.  Vines had grown over the roof. Then they covered the roof with a tarp.  Finally they decided to sell; it’s a total teardown. Someone just bought it. I think it’s a developer. We are waiting to find out. I wonder what monstrosity they will put up. 

Actually I have inherited half a house (the other half belongs to my brother in law who gets to live there until he either dies or *he* decides to sell it) that is also deteriorating big time. It was built in 1948 and has never had any of the plumbing or electricity upgraded or central air conditioning installed (this is in the San Fernando Valley in L.A., which is routinely over 100 degrees every day in the summer) or flooring replaced or bathrooms redone. Its a wreck inside and last time I was there the kitchen wiring was terrifying (I'm surprised it hasn't burned down yet). You can't tell much from the outside as the exterior yard has been moderately maintained, but it is a total tear down too. The rest of the neighborhood has been transformed into trophy homes so this is more and more anomalous, but eventually, not that I wish my brother in law ill, I look forward to seeing it taken down to the studs by a new owner.