Father's estate question

[Frustratedinmass47]

Jurisdiction

Massachusetts

My father passed away and put his house and contents in a trust that goes to his 3 children. His wife still lives in the house. She is planning on moving out in a month. She refuses to give my sister a key to the house. What are our rights to the property? Isn't it now our property since my father left it in a trust to us? Are we able to enter the property and get a key legally?

 

[army judge]

My father passed away

Please accept my sympathies and condolences for your loss.

his house and contents in a trust that goes to his 3 children.

I suggest you seek a copy of the trust, IF you are a named recipient.

His wife still lives in the house. She is planning on moving out in a month.

Again, without seeing a copy of the trust, she might be generous in all that she is doing, or it might be quite legal.

What are our rights to the property?

You'll need to retain counsel to secure copies of the documents to know what your rights MIGHT be.

Isn't it now our property since my father left it in a trust to us?

No, if the property is placed in a trust, the trust is the owner.

Again, there is no way for you to know anything with certainty until you (or better yet, your attorney) has obtained copies of the relevant documents!

Are we able to enter the property and get a key legally?

If I were your attorney, i would advise you to do NOTHING until I had reviewed the relevant documents.

I am NOT your attorney, so the sooner you retain counsel, the sooner you learn what your rights are.

 

[Frustratedinmass47]

Thank you for your response. Does the attorney that my father filed his will with have a copy of the trust?
I would like to retain counsel but I cannot afford to, that is why I am trying to find some answers on this forum.

 

[adjusterjack]

Does the attorney that my father filed his will with have a copy of the trust?

I don't know. Call him up and ask him.

I would like to retain counsel but I cannot afford to

Common lament. I suggest you read the MA Uniform Trust Code:

2017 Massachusetts General Laws :: PART II REAL AND PERSONAL PROPERTY AND DOMESTIC RELATIONS :: TITLE II DESCENT AND DISTRIBUTION, WILLS, ESTATES OF DECEASED PERSONS AND ABSENTEES, GUARDIANSHIP, CONSERVATORSHIP AND TRUSTS :: Chapter 203E MASSACHUSETTS UNIFORM TRUST CODE

 

[zddoodah]

What are our rights to the property? Isn't it now our property since my father left it in a trust to us? Are we able to enter the property and get a key legally?

We have no conceivable way of knowing. All we have to go on is your statement that your father put his house "in a trust that goes to his 3 children." We haven't read (and have no ability to read) the trust, and your statement that the trust "goes to his 3 children" is ambiguous. Your follow up post also implies that you don't have a copy of the trust, so I'm wondering if even you know what it says. Do you have a copy of the trust? If not, what is the basis of your statement that your father put the house "in a trust that goes to his 3 children"?

All that being said, until and unless title to the property is transferred to you, you likely have no rights regarding the property.

Who is the trustee of this trust?

Does the attorney that my father filed his will with have a copy of the trust?

How should we know? Don't you suppose you have a better chance of getting an accurate answer to this question by calling that attorney and asking him/her, as opposed to asking anonymous strangers on the internet?

I would like to retain counsel but I cannot afford to, that is why I am trying to find some answers on this forum.

While I can appreciate that, no one who hasn't read the trust will be in any position to offer much in the way of useful information.

 

[Richard Marvel]

My father passed away and put his house and contents in a trust that goes to his 3 children. His wife still lives in the house. She is planning on moving out in a month. She refuses to give my sister a key to the house. What are our rights to the property? Isn't it now our property since my father left it in a trust to us? Are we able to enter the property and get a key legally?

Depending on the Jurisdiction you are located in, the answer may be different. Depending on the type of trust and the language utlizied for the administration of the trust, the surviving spouse may have a claim to the home or at least a portion of the home. The trust document would need to be fully reviewed.