- Jurisdiction
- California
To whom it may concern:
I'm wondering if a professional can lend a hand or lead me on the right path to resolution for the current matter:
My father whom recently passed was part of a trust that his brother (whom also passed) had originally created. He, my father, would normally check up on my uncle until his unfortunate demise. Because of the paralegal that my dad (i think) or uncle dealt with before their passing, the trust that was written didn't include some particular information which led my uncles estate into probate. I was also recently informed that I too, as well as my uncles grandchild, was listed in the trust. With this in mind, my uncle had no heirs listed in said trust aside from my dad however, his daughter (my cousin) who wasn't in the picture for the past 30 years decided to come out of the woodwork and now has a lawsuit that's been in limbo due to my dad's ailing condition; at the time, my dad couldn't afford it and was already in the hospital due to his condition. He tried reasoning with his niece and decided to split the estate at 50/50 amicably however the niece declined this and believed she was entitled to All her father assets regardless of the circumstances. In other words, greed potentially got to her despite not being:
a) in the trust and
b) not being involved in her own fathers life for so long
She even made a point to show her appreciation towards my dad in a text message on facebook acknowledging how much she appreciated my dad for his commitment to helping her dad before he passed (I suppose this is of no significance? but thought i'd thrown in in case it was) The dilemma now is the following:
Because my dad was listed in the original trust but due to some discrepancy the lawsuit is now in probate limbo of sorts. My cousin has not followed up on said lawsuit for unknown reasons unless she and her other two siblings are in talks of trying to gather potential funds to proceed but this is mere speculation on my part. My biggest concern is what happens now considering both are deceased?
I understand and correct me if I'm wrong my cousin can try to sue me because she believes she's entitled regardless of the situation but will pose great difficulty on her behalf. With that being said, can she:
1) try to come after my dad's estate or me since she decided otherwise on my dads offer which i believe was generous considering he was also paying for my uncles fees associated with the house like bills, house tax, etc.
2) Can she be in favor of actually winning anything despite not being listed in any of the aforementioned (Trust) and not wanting anything to do with her dad until his passing, hence my reference for coming out of the woodwork.
3) How do things change if my fathers estate is currently in a reverse mortgage but was set up successfully in a trust for both my brother and I who have agreed to split the assets 50/50 before my fathers passing? I have no intention of wanting to sell the house and currently reside here since my dads health had gradually diminished until his recent passing.
Ultimately what I would like to know is if my cousin can come after me despite all this shenanigans even if my husband and I (or he since he's the only sole provider of our family) can qualify for a loan to pay off the current reverse mortgage?
Lastly, for everything to be fair how would the 50/50 split be completed under a reverse mortgage? would i also have to give up my half to pay out my brother meaning, say the house is worth 350k we both get 150k but in order for it to be possibly fair, i would still need to add an additional 75k to my brother which he would be 225k leaving me with only 75k? is that even considered fair?
Apologies as I didn't mean to write a book but just looking for another avenue of advice for this convoluted craziness as I've been stressed out trying to get everything organized accordingly. Thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
Ceres
I'm wondering if a professional can lend a hand or lead me on the right path to resolution for the current matter:
My father whom recently passed was part of a trust that his brother (whom also passed) had originally created. He, my father, would normally check up on my uncle until his unfortunate demise. Because of the paralegal that my dad (i think) or uncle dealt with before their passing, the trust that was written didn't include some particular information which led my uncles estate into probate. I was also recently informed that I too, as well as my uncles grandchild, was listed in the trust. With this in mind, my uncle had no heirs listed in said trust aside from my dad however, his daughter (my cousin) who wasn't in the picture for the past 30 years decided to come out of the woodwork and now has a lawsuit that's been in limbo due to my dad's ailing condition; at the time, my dad couldn't afford it and was already in the hospital due to his condition. He tried reasoning with his niece and decided to split the estate at 50/50 amicably however the niece declined this and believed she was entitled to All her father assets regardless of the circumstances. In other words, greed potentially got to her despite not being:
a) in the trust and
b) not being involved in her own fathers life for so long
She even made a point to show her appreciation towards my dad in a text message on facebook acknowledging how much she appreciated my dad for his commitment to helping her dad before he passed (I suppose this is of no significance? but thought i'd thrown in in case it was) The dilemma now is the following:
Because my dad was listed in the original trust but due to some discrepancy the lawsuit is now in probate limbo of sorts. My cousin has not followed up on said lawsuit for unknown reasons unless she and her other two siblings are in talks of trying to gather potential funds to proceed but this is mere speculation on my part. My biggest concern is what happens now considering both are deceased?
I understand and correct me if I'm wrong my cousin can try to sue me because she believes she's entitled regardless of the situation but will pose great difficulty on her behalf. With that being said, can she:
1) try to come after my dad's estate or me since she decided otherwise on my dads offer which i believe was generous considering he was also paying for my uncles fees associated with the house like bills, house tax, etc.
2) Can she be in favor of actually winning anything despite not being listed in any of the aforementioned (Trust) and not wanting anything to do with her dad until his passing, hence my reference for coming out of the woodwork.
3) How do things change if my fathers estate is currently in a reverse mortgage but was set up successfully in a trust for both my brother and I who have agreed to split the assets 50/50 before my fathers passing? I have no intention of wanting to sell the house and currently reside here since my dads health had gradually diminished until his recent passing.
Ultimately what I would like to know is if my cousin can come after me despite all this shenanigans even if my husband and I (or he since he's the only sole provider of our family) can qualify for a loan to pay off the current reverse mortgage?
Lastly, for everything to be fair how would the 50/50 split be completed under a reverse mortgage? would i also have to give up my half to pay out my brother meaning, say the house is worth 350k we both get 150k but in order for it to be possibly fair, i would still need to add an additional 75k to my brother which he would be 225k leaving me with only 75k? is that even considered fair?
Apologies as I didn't mean to write a book but just looking for another avenue of advice for this convoluted craziness as I've been stressed out trying to get everything organized accordingly. Thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
Ceres
