Had anyone ever dealt with a “rogue trustee”?

Question

Good morning BP,

I’ve been driving for dollars and contacted an owner of a house that looked vacant. Initially they were upset with my call but after some talking they opened up about their situation. The owner mentioned the property is vacant but they are unable to sell the property at this moment due to a bad situation with a “rogue trustee”. Has anyone ever dealt with this type of scenario and if so was there anything you did to help the property owner? I was trying to be tactful and respect their privacy so I was unable to get more information on the matter. Although the conversation started out rough, by the end of it the owner thanked me for calling and followed up with a text with their contact info. My plan is to keep in contact with the owner and possibly be able to purchase this property later on. Any advice or comments are appreciated, thanks everyone!

Dario Cruz · Answer

@Eric James hmm, that makes sense. Maybe getting both sides of the story would help figure that part out. Very good point thank you.

Caroline Gerardo · Answer

The vesting tells you who the real owner is. Then you can search court records if there is any litigation and get to the truth.

Eric James · Answer

Besides that, a common reason people appoint trustees is they don't trust the recipient to make good decisions with the property.

Dario Cruz · Answer

@Eric James interesting, I’ve never heard of that but I’ll definitely be looking into it, thanks Eric.

Dario Cruz · Answer

@Caroline Gerardo Got it, I’ll do that. Thank you for your help I greatly appreciate it.

Dario Cruz · Answer

@Caroline Gerardo Thanks for the advice, I hadn’t thought of getting a title officer involved. The owner did mention something of court litigations being in process and like you said, it’s been a long process. And did you mean contact the trustee directly to get more info? Thanks for your help Caroline

Caroline Gerardo · Answer

Have a title officer look up the vesting. A Living Trust can have several trustees and several beneficiaries. Typically they are family members, generations. I imagine one family member is fighting for more.  A trustee has a fiduciary duty to follow the details in the written trust agreement. A rogue trustee would be someone doing whatever the heck they feel. Property is vacant because trustee is not renting/selling/completing their duty to protect the beneficiaries. My guess is the other family members will sue rogue trustee, long process. Find out who this is, contact them directly.

Dario Cruz · Answer

@Eric James awesome! I will check that out, thank you so much.

Eric James · Answer

Check out "lifetime estate".

Eric James · Answer

Maybe it's a living trust, where the resident has the right to live in the property but they will never get ownership of it.

Had anyone ever dealt with a “rogue trustee”?

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