Out of State Home in Probate....

[MillsE]

What is the name of your state? California. The Condo is in Signal Hill Ca. I am in Florida and my brother is in Illinois. The condo in question was our Fathers' and he passed away on November 30, 2022. Straight to the question. Our Father passed away and the condo was left to us. We had gone out to California in December. All appliances were operational and in the condo. We had to wait three months for a Certificate of Death and everything went into probate. I had to go back home as did my brother. We are still in probate, why, I don't quite understand. Small estate, two beneficiaries, and uncontested. No hidden debt and no hidden family. My Brother got a bond and when approved by the Judge we were able to put the condo on the market for sale. It seems the step-sister had no claim to the unit or its contents, not assumed but verbally agreed to when we were all in the same room. Well, we put the condo on the market and I looked at the listing and found that all of the appliances, dishwasher, stove, fridge, washer, and dryer are all gone. When we questioned the sister's husband he stated he was tasked with emptying the unit. By whom we do not know, and he donated the washer and dryer to a charity they can not remember which one though, and the dishwasher they gave to a caregiver... What they did with the stove and fridge I can not say. The unit is dated and needs to be updated but the price on the listing is $20,000.00 less than what was discussed with us and the realtor. Of course, we expected all the appliances to be there. Now it is a dated condo with several open holes in the kitchen.... His response was what is the issue? It's 2 years later....... They moved to Texas shortly thereafter. Around January 2023.
Can we do anything to make him put something back in the holes? Not looking for anything new dent and scratch will work but something?

 

[zddoodah]

I'm going to ask you a lot of questions. They're important. Please answer them individually.

The Condo is in Signal Hill Ca. I am in Florida and my brother is in Illinois. The condo in question was our Fathers' and he passed away on November 30, 2022. Straight to the question. Our Father passed away and the condo was left to us.

1. Did your father hold title to the condo solely in his name? If not, please explain how title was held.
2. What is the fair-market value of the condo?
3. What is the balance of any mortgage(s) against the condo?
4. Did your father have any other significant assets?
5. Sounds like probate started around February 2023. Correct?
6. Whom did the court appoint as personal representative of the estate?
7. Please explain what exactly "the condo was left to us" means. For example, did he have a will that provided, in effect, "title to my condo located at 1234 Hill Street in Signal Hill shall be transferred jointly to my two children"?

My Brother got a bond and when approved by the Judge we were able to put the condo on the market for sale.

So...is your brother the personal representative of the estate? I assume the court required a bond because he's a non-resident of California. Correct?

It seems the step-sister had no claim to the unit or its contents

Who? Your step-sister? Was this a daughter of a woman to whom your father was married at some point?

Well, we put the condo on the market and I looked at the listing and found that all of the appliances, dishwasher, stove, fridge, washer, and dryer are all gone. When we questioned the sister's husband he stated he was tasked with emptying the unit.

Huh? If, as it appears, your brother is the personal representative, didn't he hire a realtor to handle the sale of the condo? Does he have an attorney representing him? There's no way any bonding company would write a PR bond for an out-of-state PR without the PR having a local attorney.

By whom we do not know

So...you contacted this guy and questioned him about what you saw in the listing, and he said "he was tasked with emptying the unit" and you just left it at that? You didn't ask him who tasked him to do it?

the dishwasher they gave to a caregiver

Whose caregiver? Your father's?

The unit is dated and needs to be updated but the price on the listing is $20,000.00 less than what was discussed with us and the realtor.

And when you or your brother called the realtor and asked him/her about this, how did he/she respond?

His response was what is the issue?

His? The stepsister's husband? The realtor?

They moved to Texas shortly thereafter. Around January 2023.

They?