Living trust and splitting up mortgage

[JeromeDavid]

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

My father just passed away and he had a living trust. There are a house (~900K), an apt building (~800K), cars, jewelry, some cash (~10K) and mutual funds (~50K). The trust states that I will only get half of the house. My brother, his wife, and their 2 children will get the other half of the house and the rest of the estate.

However, he has a 261,000$ mortgage on the house. Also, there are other expenses: attorney fees, accountant fees, and payment for the trustee that will come out to ~75K. So altogether we're looking at the expenses of 261,000 + 75,000 = 336,000$

My brother has been saying that I need to split half of this, but I think that it should be prorated since I only get the short end of the stick. How do I go about and make sure that I am not being taken advantage of in this situation? Thank you.What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?

 

[curb1]

Who is the trustee and what does s/he say about this?

 

[xylene]

1.76 mil estate

Get a lawyer.

But my math says you split the mortgage in half as that is your asset

and

Divide the fees by the value of assets disbursed. AKA you are getting 450K and Bro&Fam is getting 1.31 million....

Sooo you portion of the fee is 25% or $18,750



I think there may be an argument for %25 of the whole claim on the estate. But you need a lawyer, like last week.

 

[JeromeDavid]

Who is the trustee and what does s/he say about this?

The trustee is my father's girlfriend. She said that I would be responsible for half of the mortgage and nothing else. She said that the house was listed under the special gift to me and my brother.

 

[JeromeDavid]

Get a lawyer.

But my math says you split the mortgage in half as that is your asset

and

Divide the fees by the value of assets disbursed. AKA you are getting 450K and Bro&Fam is getting 1.31 million....

Sooo you portion of the fee is 25% or $18,750



I think there may be an argument for %25 of the whole claim on the estate. But you need a lawyer, like last week.

Thanks for your input. Can you explain the 25%? I am not sure I get the math.

 

[xylene]

Thanks for your input. Can you explain the 25%? I am not sure I get the math.

You are receiving 25% of the value of the estate. So it makes sense that you would pay 25% of the fees.

I think you really need your own lawyer. This is a large estate with a not simple split.