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Mortgage and Trust Issues

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Locomotion

Junior Member
What is the name of your state? New Jersey

But the trust is in California

My father passed away on 9/3/07. He had a trust done in July naming myself, my 4 siblings and my sister in law beneficiaries. My brother (who lives in Ca) was named executor of the trust.

My brother was responsible for putting his house up for sale, which he did in the end of September. We were told by him that the house carried a hefty mortgage without seeing proof of it.We( my other 3 siblings) live on the east coast), so we all gave money back to him to keep in an account to cover expenses.

The house is in process of being sold now and my brother refuses to produce anything in regards to the balance of the mortgage!! In addition we found out that the house was retitled in his name solely 1 day after my father passed.My brother says he isn't using a lawyer because it costs to much, and also this trust (will) has never been probated, He claims he doesn't need to probate it. The amount of the trust would be over 100K.

My questions are:

(1) Can you get title to a house changed if there is a mortgage?

(2) How can we find out if there is actually a mortgage on the property?

I have asked several times for an accounting history to no avail, My father was 73 when he purchased the home in 2002.

Thank you in advance for any help or suggestions you may have..
 
Last edited:


tecate

Member
The conveyance to your brother's name alone sounds suspicious, along with his excuses. Don't sit on your rights; hire someone locally to force him to convey the home back into the trust, and find out what you want to know.
 

Locomotion

Junior Member
bump.. I made some edits to my original post .. please re-read. I'm very new and I may not have expressed myself correctly the first time out.:cool:
 

curb1

Senior Member
1) The trust does not need to be probated.

2) All siblings have to make a unified effort to make brother talk and cooperate.

3) I would be surprised that he could get a title changed that fast. He would need to have a death certificate to change title into his name. Call the county clerk and ask about the procedure and ask exactly how the house is titled.

4) You and siblings need to be very proactive about this or you might not see the money.
 

Locomotion

Junior Member
1) The trust does not need to be probated.

2) All siblings have to make a unified effort to make brother talk and cooperate.

3) I would be surprised that he could get a title changed that fast. He would need to have a death certificate to change title into his name. Call the county clerk and ask about the procedure and ask exactly how the house is titled.

4) You and siblings need to be very proactive about this or you might not see the money.
Thank you for your reply...

We have made efforts to talk with him. He seems to be very argumentative and usually picks a fight and hangs up on which ever one of us has called him. He just simply refuses to give us any accounting of the trust. He claims he doesn't have the time...etc etc... He'll do it when he gets around to it.

I spoke with the county recorders office yesterday. They told me the the deed to the house was conveyed from my father's name into my brother's name and that my brother is now the owner.

My brother had my father draw up a new will in late July of 07. He was made the executor with his wife as co-executrix. A trust was set up at that time also with my brother being the trustee and also giving my brother power of attorney. My father died on 9/1/07. The recorders office told me that the application to change the deed was applied for on 8/4/07 and was finalized by their office on 10/4/07.So it was done prior to my father's death. They also told me that my father was the sole owner of the home when he purchased in it 2002,so they was no co-owner.He is apparently not going to tell us the truth at this time,and since there is no court involved and the closing is coming up fast he is just doing what he wants. That's why I asked how I find out if there is actually a mortgage, I just find it hard to believe that at 73 years old a bank gave my Dad a loan that had well over a $150,000 left to pay on it.

Again thank you for any insight that you may have..
 

curb1

Senior Member
Now I am wondering if the house was titled in the name of the Trust when your father died? The County recorder should be able to easily tell you that. If it wasn't titled properly in the name of the trust then probate comes into the picture. If probate is in the picture then there will be a public accounting. That could be what brother is covering up. The Trust might not have been funded properly.

With the consultation of the siblings, you need to have a local attorney write him a letter. That might be all that it takes to get him to act right. There is no reason for him to be acting the way he is unless he is doing something devious.
 

Locomotion

Junior Member
Now I am wondering if the house was titled in the name of the Trust when your father died? The County recorder should be able to easily tell you that. If it wasn't titled properly in the name of the trust then probate comes into the picture. If probate is in the picture then there will be a public accounting. That could be what brother is covering up. The Trust might not have been funded properly.

With the consultation of the siblings, you need to have a local attorney write him a letter. That might be all that it takes to get him to act right. There is no reason for him to be acting the way he is unless he is doing something devious.

Thank you again for your reply Curb

I did ask the County how the house was titled. It was conveyed from my Dad's name to my brother's name alone. The trust's name was not included. As I stated earlier this was done on 10/07, 3 weeks after my Dad's passing. The process was started months earlier.
 

curb1

Senior Member
There is likely a problem and your brother is not handling this correctly. The house should have been titled within the trust. something to the effect:

Joe Smith Trustee of Joe Smith Family Trust

The Trust could possibly considered worthless if it was never funded. The assets outside the Trust would then be subject to probate. Then there will need to be a strict accounting. The problem approaching is that legal fees could end up eating all of the assets. My sister-in-law has just finished settling an estate of an aunt. The family quarreled and the legal fees came to $186,000, about half of the estate.
 

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