Does a Trustee need to file a quitclaim deed? Please read further details...?

[jenharsh]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? California

I am the Trustee of my dad's Trust. He and his wife had a living trust; I was named the Trustee of the Decedent's Trust if my dad was the first to die. He died in July and his wife has been giving me trouble me ever since (she is mentally and emotionally unstable). I am doing everything in my power to manage the Trust and honor my dad's wishes, but his wife seems determined to make my life miserable and have me either give up or be removed from being Trustee (I'm not sure why; I've been bending over backwards trying to keep her happy). The Trust listed her house as her separate property, and a substantial investment account as his separate property (he got the money from the sale of his house a few years ago). The money in the investment account(s) is to be used to provide her with the interest and dividends until her death, at which point my brother and I split the full amount in the account(s). Her most recent letter of supposed violations stated that I was supposed to (and refused to) file a quitclaim deed to release her house from the Trust so she could create a new Trust (Survivor's Trust). I don't remember any such thing, and I consulted with an attorney after the death of my dad to make sure I was doing everything I was supposed to. Since the Trust specifically listed her house as her separate property and I never had any legal interest in the house, it doesn't make sense to me that I was required to do anything from my end to release her house to her. Am I wrong? Any help would be greatly appreciated...
Thanks!What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?

 

[curb1]

How exactly is the house titled?

 

[jenharsh]

Title...

I'm not entirely sure. I'm pretty sure it's in her name. Unfortunately, it is not possible to have an intelligible conversation with her, to find out for sure.

 

[tranquility]

Send a letter saying I was informed and believe the house was titled in your name only and not in the trust. You demanded I supply a quit claim of the house to you. Please provide a copy of the deed or title search showing the house is titled to the trust so I can properly meet your demands.

 

[curb1]

What I was trying to determine was if the house was ever titled in the name of the trust, or is the title still in her name? Records at the courthouse would reveal the answer.

 

[jenharsh]

I just called the Madera County Assessor's Office; the house was put in both their names under the Trust in 2008; it was changed into her name under the Trust in Dec. 2010 (my dad died in July 2010); then it was put into her name in the name of the Survivor's Trust in March 2011. I guess that means she didn't need me to do anything after all. I'm not sure why she sent me a letter this month telling me I refused to file a quitclaim deed when she had already taken care of changing the title.

 

[tranquility]

If she's going to get a loan on the property, there could be some cloud on title because of how it was transferred. While title is her's, a quitclaim could help clear things up so as there are not estate debts which could go against the property. While it was not a fiduciary breach to not give one, if it makes her happy, why not?

 

[curb1]

I agree. It will not be difficult to satisfy her wishes. It is her house so make it simple. Who is the trustee of the " Survivor's Trust"? If it is "wife" why doesn't she handle the quitclaim deed?

Who is the beneficiary of her assets when she passes? You, or are there other people involved?

 

[jenharsh]

She's the Trustee of the Survivor's Trust, and her son is her beneficiary (he gets the house when she dies). I am the Trustee of the Decedent's Trust, and my brother and I are the beneficiaries of my dad's separate property ($500,000 in an investment account) after she dies.