Grantor passed while grandson allowed to stay in home. Temp trustee cannot conduct necessary repairs due to grandson claiming tenancy. Advice?
Not sure where this matter should be posted, but here is the situation: trustee, who is now the homeowner through a Trust cannot get adult son to leave the home who is now saying he is a tenant. No lease, and the home needs repairs that could not be done while grantor was alive because she wanted peace and quiet. Adult son will not even let the trustee/owner on the proerty at all! He has become a major problem and it all is because he was allowed to stay there since he had no place to go at the time. Been there six months now, after the passing of his grandmother. The trustee/owner is trying to honor his mothers trust and wishes to maintain the old home that has been the family home for 40 plus years. Adult son even let his girlfriend move in without permission. Trustee gave 30 day notice to vacate, but he says he will not go, its his house now. It is NOT his house, but put up motion sensors and said he will call the cops if the trustee tries to enter the gate of the yard! Attached garage has all trustees belongings, tools etc, since he was in home for five years caring for his mother. Now he cannot even access that. He is still in mourning for heavens sake, and the urn of his mom is in the home too. What can be done about a horrible situation like this? Is there nothing that can be done since this ingrate wants to enforce bogus "tenant rights"? That is what all the lawyer type sites tell us...
12 Answers
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since there is no lease...give him legal notice to move effective Sept 30, 2019.
look up your state laws about this, You must give him this written notice by august 30. This is not an eviction notice. It is a simple notice to terminate the tenancy at the end of the tenancy period. Which since there is no lease...that would be after one full month of notice.
This should be done all three ways described by law. 1) attempt to hand him the notice,.,.take a witness with you. 2) post the notice unto his front door....take a picture of it...and 3) send a copy via certified mail (us post office). Save the proof of delivery....
you must legally serve this notice to move BEFORE you can begin the court filing to evict.
if he is still there in October 1....go directly to the country court house....get a copy of the forms to file for eviction (writ of possession) Holder over Summary Proceedings. Use those exact words or the court clerk will not know what you are asking for....and the clerk is forbidden by law to give you any help. Be prepared to pay cash for the court costs....they usually do not accept credit cards or checks. Once you have finished the filing.....I suggest you pay the fee to have a process server go and serve this on the tenant....saves any debate over whether or not it was done properly. Process server usually wants a check In the envelope with the paperwork from the clerk.
a court date will be set and you ask the judge to remove him due to proper notice given and he has refused to move. You will get the eviction order and the sheriff will remove him.
as a ex-landlord I have been through this process more times and in more states that I care to remember.
sorry that you are so upset with some of us on the forum. It is often difficult to get "the whole story" in a post. I have written a few and I think I sound like a confused person myself. I didn't think I was cruel when I suggested there was enough grief and perhaps everyone could cool, then meet and really talk.
I had no idea that you cared deeply, that you in fact "love" this boy. That didn't come across to me in your first post, as it did in the response below. You describe yourself as a religious person, and as the peacemaker between this boy and his Dad. I think that's great.
So I think honestly, then, just continue try to make good gentle and calming suggestions, whether a settlement of some funds or not maybe beside the point.
If your Partner doesn't wish to do that, then perhaps let him settle things on his own, and in his own way. As between you you have more than a few properties he may not even need a lawyer, but might want to visit to a lawyer who will tell him the best way to proceed legally. I bet he can handle it. I am sure it is frustrating to have him come home with stories of being chased off the property, and tenant's rights and all that. But just let him solve it and reassure him you know he can do it.
Again, I had no idea you were close to his son; I hadn't read it that way, and that you have acted as the peacemaker in past problems. So perhaps just continue to attempt to bring the peace. I worry that you mention the young man has a history of some violence; as I said initially that always makes me worry about cement down the toilet at the least, and shotguns at worst when things get hot and riled.
You know the truth is that I think grief is so hard for us that we would RATHER at times find someone to be mad at so we don't have just to sit with the tears.
Wishing you the best of luck and hope you will update when it is all settled out. Wishing your family the best.
If I was you this is what I would do: go to your courthouse and file an eviction notice, then I would call a lawyer who deals with landlord/tenants and ask him/her about the utilities...see if or what you can do to put that bill in the son's name. If your laws are like my city then you can not just turn them off on him, but you know that. But there might be a law that states "that if the tenant does not have utilities for x amount of days they have to leave the property within x amount of days", which for my city it is 10 days and no eviction notice necessary. This might be your loop hole.
I know this sounds out-of-order, but this would cover you from both sides. File eviction notice first then see if you can get the utilities in the son's name. Once it is in his name then he is responsible to pay the bill and if he can't and it gets shut off you should have a legal right to kick him out.
See what your rights are as a landlord and yes I do understand that it is your husband who is the landlord and the son's father. This will cost you time and money unfortunately!
Good luck!
Hugs!!
In truth it sounds like YOU are wanting to live in that house which is the real motivation behind your one-sided trying to appeal to emotions post. That house likely needs a caretaker, and you're upset because that isn't you. Sorry, but you're not married to the trustee, so it's not your battle nor decision.
Landlords sometimes use this approach with problem tenants because it's usually cheaper and quicker than eviction. (Disgruntled tenants can do a lot of damage to a property they know they will soon be forced to leave.)
Google "Cash for Keys" to read about it.
Irritating? Yes, but it can be quite effective.
Maybe you can make a deal with him, such as finding him a place somewhere and helping him with the rent for the first few months, see if that would entice him to move. Give him a deadline to accept your offer. After that, he can wait for the sheriff to come and throw him out.
Also, If he has a history of violence, you may consider a restraining order.
First notice to deliver properly is the 3-day notice to VACATE. Again, sounds like this situation constitutes an eviction attorney and it will be the most effective and expedient way to rectify this horrible situation.
Good Luck. I'm a Landlord myself.
NOW, if you are living somewhere like my city of San Francisco, everything becomes squirrely to the inth degree. Tenant rights are insane here, and it often costs to get people to remove themselves from occupancy as much as 10,000. Yup. Believe it. So I don't know the rules where you live, but this is a legal action now.
You may want first to discuss this with "adult" son. You may want to make an offer. You can either pay a lawyer or you can pay HIM when he has removed himself and all of his possessions from the premises, or you can offer to pay several months rental and rental deposit for him. You can explain to him that you will otherwise be forced now to do the legal procedure that is a waste of time, money and effort for all involved.
So first thing is know the law in your area, know the rights, and know the costs. That means you are paying first off for an hour of a lawyers time in your town. Second step is talking with this "adult" son.
I worry when someone is this irresponsible. To be frank, I have seen terrible damage done to homes in these circumstances, cement down toilets, plumbing ruined and even fires. Please take care and try so far as you are able to come to an AGREEMENT.
Shaking my head.
It's cold consolation, but since this has already dragged on for months you might as well carry doggedly on with the formal legal proceedings. Not expecting a process to take less time than it actually does take is one way to reduce the agonising stress of it.
Why on earth is he doing this? Would it help you to tell the history?