Hey friends, Joe here and today's post is a good one. Today's post about probate will speak to people who have that brother or sister who never moved out of mom and dads house a long time ago. Can you relate?
Dealing with probate in California, by and large, is a daunting task. Having to deal with family members who won't talk or refuse to cooperate only adds to the madness. I will give you solid tips and real-life advice that will minimize risk and fast track any delay tactics by your rouge family member.
1) First things first get appointed as the administrator of the estate. Don't bother ruffling any feathers until you have some powers over the Estate. Once appointed call or text your family member to let them know that you've been appointed and that you plan on selling the home. This probably won't come as a surprise to your family member depending on when your loved one passed away. If the death of your loved one was recent, they are probably expecting it. If your loved one passed away many years ago it may be a bit of a shock. Let them know that the realtor will be reaching out to them to go see the home. This will definitely put them on notice and if they are going to fight you, now is when they will voice their opinion giving you time to prepare for the next step.
2) Have the realtor make contact with them and schedule a time to view the home to confirm the price, take pics etc.
3) Have them served with a 60-day notice to move out. Be prepared for a frantic phone call from them. Inform them that this is coming from the probate attorney representing the estate and not you! In reality, this is a move to protect the other beneficiaries in case you need to file an unlawful detainer in the event the person living in the home stops talking with you as the administrator. In California, before you can file an "unlawful detainer" you must give a 60 or 90 day notice to move out. Please call a landlord-tenant attorney for your specific case to help you with preparing and serving the notices. Do not be cheap and try to do this yourself, if you mess up it can cost you time and money.
4) Be prepared to have a heart to heart talk with your sibling. In the event that your sibling cooperates in the beginning and then stops talking with you or cooperating, you may need to do something radically different. I recommend that before you proceed with an eviction try to be civil and offer a second chance. You will have to be the bigger person and dig deep. I recommend calling the person and saying "I'm Sorry". You're probably asking: "why am I saying sorry? I didn't do anything wrong". The person you're dealing with may be upset with you for a number of reasons. It could be something recent or something from many years ago. Maybe you have an idea maybe you don't. In any case, the best thing to say is "Hey _(name)_ I'm sorry for the way things got off and sorry for anything I've done or said to you in the past. I still plan on selling the home and I'd like to do it with your cooperation and not through an eviction. Will you please move forward with us?". Then be quiet and listen to them. This apology may be the only thing that they wanted in the beginning. If you feel they will not work with you or if they flat out say "No" then, unfortunately, you will have to evict them. Evicting someone can have a major impact on them finding a place to live in the future. At least you know that you went the extra mile to avoid this.
5) Your last step is to contact a landlord-tenant attorney and explain the situation and make sure to mention this is a probate case. If you used a lawyer for the 60-day notice then you will already have someone to help you with the unlawful detainer.
Wow, this was longer than I thought. I hope this helps and remember there are many options to probate in California besides selling the home. Such as a sibling qualifying for a loan to buy out the others. Feel free to call or text us at (949) 485-9427 to answer all of your questions or for an attorney referral.
Disclaimer: We are not lawyers and this is not meant to be legal advice. Please call a lawyer in your state for your specific situation.