My fiancés father passed away and left him our house and a commercial piece of property that is used in our business. The trust states that he is to receive the properties and up to 20% of the trust. Now the brother is wanting to evict us because my fiancé won't agree to the offers they have made regarding his 20%. Can you be evicted from property that was specifically left to you in a trust?

Thanks so much
Cindy

Hello cindy:

I sure wouldn't think so. However, since there is apparently serious money, and long term business and family implications involved here, you're going to need the services of an attorney versed in trust and probate law.

excon

Quote:

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Originally Posted by cindymom

my fiances father passed away and left him our house and a commercial piece of property that is used in our business. the trust states that he is to receive the properties and up to 20% of the trust. now the brother is wanting to evict us because my fiance wont agree to the offers they have made regarding his 20%. can you be evicted from property that was specifically left to you in a trust?

thanks so much
cindy

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Talk to an attorney who has reviewed the trust documents.

Ok, the brother has nothing to do with the house and the property if the brother is only to get 20 percent of the trust. ( unless the house is part of the trust)

The way you stated it, was that your fiancé inherited a house and property and then there was a trust ?

But if the hosue and business is the trust, then what ever the proper going rate of rent on the house is due the brother.

If this is still in probate, it is up to probate, If not who ever the trustee of the trust decides what 20 percent is and send it to the brother. The brother does not have to agree, he merely gets 20 percent as the trustee sees it proper. If he disaagrees, he can sue the trust for what he believes is the fair share.


Only the trustee has control over who has and lives in the property if the property is in the trust

I don't understand "my fiances father passed away and left him our house" ? If the gentleman passed away who is "him" ?

my fiancés, lets call him Jack... we will call his father Bob, who is now deceased... we will call Jack's brother Tom


Bob left Jack a commercial piece of property that Jack and I use in our business and a house that Bob purchased for us when we moved... these two pieces of real estate are to account towards Jack's 20% of the trust that was left after all debts and so on were taken care of... the trust specifically names these 2 pieces of property to be left to Jack, but their values do not equal 20% of the value of the trust... so Jack is not willing to accept only the property

now since Jack will not accept the property only, Tom, Jack's brother has threatened to evict him from the house and the commercial property that is used in the business as the trust has stated to be left specifically to Jack... Tom is the executor of the trust so he is distributing the trust

basically Tom is being a big bully since Jack will not agree to what Tom wants do as far as distributing what is left of the trust so he is going to try to kick us out

is it legal for Tom to evict Jack from a piece of property that was specifically left to Jack

thanks
cindy

Jacks father never asked for any rent EVER... and we had never planned on paying any after he passed, since we knew we would be left the house and commercial property when he died

there is no probate, that is the reason for a Trust

the Trust its self is worth over 1 million dollars

the business belongs to Jack and I alone and has nothing to do with the Trust, only that the trust states that Jack gets the " properties used in the business and the house"

and we do have an attorney, but they are never around on the weekend or when you need them... haha

thanks
cindy

What state do you live in.
It sounds like you need to sit down with brother and attorneys and hash this out.
From my experience you can not change what a will says unless they can prove that at the time the will was made the person was incomptent or not thinking correctly.

This could end up in court be prepared.

From the way I read this, the will leaves the real property to Jack and nothing can change that. Tom has NO control over the real property at all. He's making empty threats.

What needs to be done is to get an independent appraiser to appraise the property. Is the balance of the trust in cash or what? If its not cash (or securities), then you may need to get an appraisal of the whole trust.

With those appraisals in hand you can then deal with Tom's claim.

Now here's the kicker. You say the trust is worth over a million. So I would assume its less than $2 mil. That means 20% is less that $400K. Without knowing anything about where you live, I would still be hard pressed to believe a home AND a business property would be worth much less than $400K. Which could mean that Tom may be in the right in not wanting to pay out anything more from the trust.

Even if the property doesn't represent 20% of the trust, the difference has got to be minimal. So Jack has to decide whether a few thousand dollars is enough to cause a family rift over.

well one piece of property appraised at $146,000 and another at $46,000... but there are trucks involved also... oh, that is what their out of town appraiser valued them at... we had a local appraiser do the appraisal and her value of the higher priced commercial property was $79,000... so there is a big difference.

yes the remainder is in cash... that is why there is a struggle... Tom is saying that Jack is to get only the 'property' and no money... but the personal and real property do not make up Jack's 20%

I was informed today that the trust lawyer will file a unlawful detainer per Tom instructing him to do so... I will take it to our local lawyer... the trust lawyer is in another town as is Jack and the property that is to be his...

there has always been a rift in the family only because Bob was more than happy to see Jack carry on the family business and the other 2 children had no part of the family business... but then that gets into family 'feelings' and that is neither here nor there... only the legalities of what is to be done now

our lawyer(in the town where the trust lawyer is)has said today that he does not think that the trust will have a case since the property was left to Jack anyway... and the trust will have to file the papers here in the town where the property is

so be it... I only know that I can sleep at night with a clear mind and soul... I only hope that one day that Tom will be able to do the same

I thank you all for your insight and I just want this to all be over with so I can go on trying to make a living for my family

:)
cindy

Well you are pretty close here. You have a total of over $190K. But I really think, if the terms of the trust is what you say, then Tom is going to get his nose bloodied.

the trust reads and I quote... "20% thereof unto Jack. To the extent reasonably possible, it is my desire that the Trustee(Tom) satisfy this distribution by transferring to Jack the equipment, personal property and/or real property used in the -----business in and around
----(our town).

of course he gets 20% of what's left after all debts have been settled(and they have)

but Jack is disputing the values that Tom has put on the 'property and equipment' that is suppose to be part of the 20% and Tom is not willing to negotiate... we have done our part and gotten appraisals on everything in question

thanks again and if I am still sane after this is all said and done I will post a final as to the outcome... after 1 1/2 yrs of fussing over all this I just want it to be over and be left alone... that is one reason we moved away from our hometown... and its really hard not having any of my family to help me with any mental support... I don't do well with lawyers or courts or any of the above... I like to be left alone when at all possible... drama is a downer... lol

thanks!!