Executor of trust did not remove deceased co-signer from property

[Prototype]

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


Hi. This is my first time posting, hope I am doing everything right. I'll explain my situation...

In 1998 I was 17 and making good money on a home based internet business, I wanted to purchase a home but had no credit or anything to help support a loan. My Grandfather co-signed on my home to make it easy. I made all the payments and claimed the home on tax returns. In 2001 he passed away and my aunt (his daughter) became executor of his trust. The trust did not list my home in it at all. I never received mail for him related to the home, nor did his name appear on any of the mortgage statements at all. Fast forward to 2008 I start receiving property tax stuff on the home, for back taxes due because the home was reassessed for each year he had been on the deed after his death. My aunt realized his name was still on my home and went to the county office to remove his name. All this was done without my knowledge. So I owe a pretty decent amount in back property taxes now because of this. I have visited the county tax office and they told me that there was another way she could of done it that would of prevented this, but she did not contact me in any way when removing his name. I really didn't even know his name was still on the deed. They informed me I could put together a packet of payment copies and tax returns showing I had full interest in the home, which I am working on....although that is hard because I kept all my financial records at my grandfather's home, which my aunt quickly swept away after his death.

My question is, is there anything that I can do considering she did not contact me at all about this, or the fact she neglected to check into it until 7 years past his death?

Thank you for your time.

 

[tecate]

Do you have a copy of the original deed you received when you took title?

 

[Prototype]

I didn't think I did, but just did some digging and do have it. It says it grants me, my Grandfather....and it has my Grandmother's name on it as well, as joint tenants. I never knew my Grandmother's name was on it. She died in 2005. I feel really stupid over all of this. We started the buying process when I was 17 and escrow closed 2 days after my 18th birthday. I paid the down payment and have made every single payment on my own, my grandparents never showed an interest in the home at all except as a co-signer so I could be approved.

 

[Kiawah]

Is the problem, you didn't pay the property taxes?

What exactly is the problem, you didn't get the property tax bills and pay them?

 

[Prototype]

I paid my property taxes. They are figured into my mortgage payments, along with homeowners insurance. When my aunt was trying to remove my Grandfather's name from the deed, the county went back to 2001 and did a reassessment of the property for each year following that. With the way property values shot up a few years ago, it made the reassessments pretty high....so for each year they figured what the value of the house would of been and then taxed me on the difference from what I actually paid. My main question is could my aunt, as executor of the trust, be at all liable for this since she waited 7 years after his death and 3 years after my Grandmother's death to pursue this removal without even speaking to me about it. Wouldn't there be something I would of needed to sign as well?

 

[Kiawah]

Appears your county has an operating process, whereby they reassess the tax value of a property when a party dies. In your case, neither you nor your aunt notified them of the death, therefore your property didn't get reassessed in a timely fashion. You owe the taxes on the reassessed value, you just don't like the fact that it's due retro and you were surprised with the bill.

Not sure how you can move the blame to this on your aunt, how was she to know that their name was on your house deed. Heck, you didn't even know who was listed on your deed.....and it's your house. Perhaps if you had gone down to the county to get this paperwork cleaned up a couple years ago, they may have shared with you if there is an alternative way to get the deed in your name alone. Not fair at all in putting any blame on your aunt, in my opinion. Education experience, HouseOwning 101.

 

[tecate]

You might look at this regulation for the property tax rule about transfers to "original transferors" Perhaps the assessor goofed? Did anyone file change of ownership statements on the death of either grandparent? If so, what did they say? If not, maybe you can handle this administratively by filing them now.

Cross your fingers; you might be able to fix this with a few well placed phone calls.

http://www.boe.ca.gov/proptaxes/pdf/ptrules462040.pdf

 

[Dandy Don]

Correct term is executor if there is a will; and trustee if there is a trust. Which applies here?

Problem here is that you may have waited too long--it will be difficult for you to legally request that these taxes be paid now that probate has closed.

Look at the probate file to see if the property is mentioned in there at all; if it is, there may be grounds that the estate should have taken care of this during probate.

You should have retained the services of a real estate attorney when you "took over" the property so that the title could have been properly corrected.

Calculate the amount of taxes that were due up until the time the death occurred and then consult a real estate attorney to find out if you have legal grounds to file a suit in small claims court or in civil court to be reimbursed. And ask the person at the county tax office for specifics of exactly what they meant when they told you "there was another way she could have done it that would have prevented this".

DANDY DON IN OKLAHOMA ([email protected])

 

[anteater]

Correct term is executor if there is a will; and trustee if there is a trust. Which applies here?

DANDY DON IN OKLAHOMA ([email protected])

Neither. The grandparents and OP owned the property as joint tenants.

 

[Dandy Don]

You may not have much of a legal basis to be asking for reimbursement from the executor, since this matter should have been cleared up before or after closing. You should be asking a real estate agent what should have happened in regards to this property tax matter--somebody didn't do what they were supposed to do and you should have done due diligence to research this matter before the closing happened. It probably would have been handled correctly if either side to the transaction had retained the services of a real estate attorney during the closing process.