My father gave me a house that he inherited about 11 years ago. When he prepared the General Warranty Deed (which was filed with the county clerks office in Houston in 1997), he also asked me to sign a Deed of Trust (D/T), and have it notarized. I did as he asked.

This D/T outlined the specifics regarding payment for this house from 1998 until 2030. He explained to me that he would use this D/T to protect me in the event someone ever tried to take this property from me... whether through failed marriage, lawsuit, etc. He made it clear to me that he never intended for me to pay for this house... that he was just trying to protect me. While he has NEVER asked me to make any payments toward this D/T, he has always held it over my head to use it to threaten me into living my life according to his rules. This has caused us much strain in our relationship, as it is not very pleasant for someone to try and force you to make decisions they feel are right for your life.

Recently, I decided to build a house on this property... but he does not feel like this is a good idea. After many arguments over this issue, he finally pulled out the D/T Carrot (thus the name,"CarrotGirl"), threatening to make me pay off this note as stated in the D/T. As far as I have been able to determine, the D/T was never filed... only the General Warranty Deed in 1997.

He has been holding this carrot over my head for the last decade threatening that if I ever do not follow his wishes, he will enforce payment on this property according to the terms on the D/T. Sounds like a soap opera... and yes... this is REALLY my pathetic life!!

Anyway, I have several questions here:
(1) Can he really enforce this D/T, even though it appears he has never filed it?;
(2) If so, is there anything I can do to fight him? (as he has never enforced payment as stated in the terms of the D/T.? );
(3) If he did not file the D/T with the General Warranty Deed in 1997, can he file it tomorrow if he wanted to?; and
(4) If he did file the D/T, can I sell the house without his permission? (provided I pay him the amount he is asking for in the D/T)

HELP!! I'm frustrated and need some light of hope in this situation!!

I am going to make a radical, and not necessarily legal, suggestion. Walk away from this property. If you want to live your own life, free from your father's control, sign the property back over to him and tell him he can do whatever he wants with it.

I'm not entirely sure about the Deed of Trust, but it sounds like he is saying that you are buying the property from him for X, paid out over 32 years. If that's so, and you signed a document stating that you agreed to the terms, you might be in trouble if he ever decided to enforce it. At the worst end of the spectrum, he might be able to say that you defaulted on the loan and foreclose on the property. But someone more real-estate savvy will hopefully be by and give you better legal advice than I can.