Occupancy during probate

[robin101]

California

My grandmother recently passed away and left no will or trust. She has seven children none of which are interested in occupying her property. Her estate will surely go into probate but my aunts and uncles have given me permission to occupy the house during that time. Will I run into any legal hassles if I am living in the house before/while the house is in probate?

[xylene]

Originally Posted by robin101

Will I run into any legal hassles if I am living in the house before/while the house is in probate?

If the people giving you permission to reside there have no standing to grant you permission, you could find yourself on your ear in short order.

Also, do you mean reside there for free. The heirs could object to you wasting the estate (ie paying no rent.)

[robin101]

Thank you for your response. I'm not sure what you mean by "on your ear in short order" . Rent free in some sense...the condo is part of a gated community so I would be paying the association and maintenance fees.

[xylene]

I mean that you could wind up evicted, quickly, if the aunt and uncle do not have standing to give you permission.

Do they have standing to give you permission?

Let's put it this way - if they would NOT have had authority to allow you to stay in the condo separate from grandma's permission when she was alive - then it is a good bet they did not spontaneously acquire that right now that grandma is deceased intestate (no will)...