January 2018 // Real Estate & Home Builders Guide // 15E
Deceased man’s trust
document will clarify
who inherits his property
By Ilyce Glink and Samuel J. Tamkin
Tribune Content Agency
Q
: My wife just found out her father died.
His home, which is in South Carolina,
was left in a living trust. She also was told
she is the last living and only heir to this
home, and it is supposed to be hers.
But we have a problem. Her father’s
ex-wife of 24 years has moved into the
house and says she owns it. As far as we
know, there is no paper stating it’s hers.
What do we do now that she is trespassing
and is not an heir?
: Our condolences to your family on your
loss and the difficult situation you now
find yourselves dealing with.
Let’s start with the trust. In your email, you
indicated that your wife’s father left his prop-
erty in South Carolina in a living trust. Do you
have a copy of the trust documents? Gener-
ally a person puts a property into a living trust
to facilitate the transfer of ownership to the
A
THE CATHERINE CREEK PROPERTY
UNION COUNTY, UNION, OR
325.97 +/- acres. Timber parcel with
½ mile of Catherine Creek. 1 mm BF
timber per 2010 cruise. Adjacent to
USFS. Downstream from wilderness
access area. 11 mi south of Union.
$499,000. RG#02614
home after the trust owner dies.
The trust owner, your wife’s father, gener-
ally would have been the trustee of the trust
while living. Upon his death, the living trust
should have named a successor trustee. If
your wife is the successor trustee and the sole
successor beneficiary of the trust, she can act
as the owner of the property. She needs to
verify the details of the trust to know exactly
what her rights are with respect to the prop-
erty.
The second issue is a distinction between
the types of legal documents that deliver
assets to other people once the owner dies.
The word “heir” typically goes with a will,
not a trust. But when you talk about trust
documents, the trust document generally will
take priority over a will. For example, if a
person dies with a will and the will specifies
for a home to go to “Joe” but at a time prior to
the death of the owner of the home, the home
was placed in a trust and the beneficiary of
that trust was “Sally,” Sally would become
They matter
to us.
We get
get it.
it. Your
Your home and car are
We
are more
more
than just
just things.
things. They’re where you
than
you
make your
your memories and they deserve
make
deserve
the right
right protection.
protection. It’s why we’re
the
we’re here.
here.
LET’S TALK
TALK TODAY.
LET’S
Dan
Dan Ceniga,
Ceniga, Agent
Agent
1704
1704 SW
SW Frazer
Frazer Ave
Ave
Pendleton,
Pendleton, OR
OR 97801
97801
Bus:
541-276-3182
Bus: 541-276-3182
www.danceniga.com
www.danceniga.com
SADDLE MOUNTAIN CRP FARM - UMATILLA COUNTY, MILTON-
FREEWATER, OR - 287.30 ac with 143.09 ac in CRP. Multiple
developed springs, buildable home site, LOP tags for Walla Walla Unit.
$350,000. RG#01617
DOUBLE BAR F RANCH - MALHEUR COUNTY, ONTARIO, OR - 115
acres, 66 acres irrigated. Pond, 2,500 sq. ft. home, and outbuildings.
Wildlife, views, 6 miles from Ontario. $550,000. RG#01915
STEVENSON FARM #1 - UMATILLA COUNTY, PENDLETON, OR -
Development potential on this 76.37 acre parcel. Zoned to allow the
creation of 4ea nine acre lots with 40+ acres of river bottom remaining
for recreation. $350,000. RG#02415
BAKER VALLEY RANCH - BAKER COUNTY, HAINES, OR - 88.98
acres nestled at the base of the Elkhorn Mountains. This picturesque
property has a large main house, several outbuildings, hay/livestock
barn and cattle working facility. The remainder of the property is a
beautiful irrigated grass pasture which has been used for hay production
and livestock grazing. Call Travis or Blake 541-278-4444. $549,000.
RG#03116
OLD RATTRAY RANCH WEST - GILLIAM COUNTY, CONDON, OR -
939.75 total acres. Property consisting of 612.27 acres of range, 229.52
acres currently in wheat production, and 97.96 acres of CRP. Abundant
deer and upland birds with occasional elk. $385,979. RG#02516
HAWKINS PARCEL 1 - UMATILLA COUNTY, PENDLETON, OR -
11.6 acres of dryland pasture, 7 miles NW of Pendleton. 3 bedroom, 1
bath home with laundry area and deck. Large shop with multiple large
overhead doors and living quarters. $385,000. RG#02817
The Whitney Land Co.
Stan Henderer,
Henderer, Agent
Agent
Stan
33 SE
SE Dorion
Dorion Ave
Ave
33
Pendleton, OR
OR 97801
97801
Pendleton,
Bus: 541-278-0880
541-278-0880
Bus:
www.henderer.com
www.henderer.com
State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company
State Farm Fire and Casualty Company
Bloomington, IL
1706816
KENNEWICK HORSE PROPERTY - BENTON COUNTY, KENNEWICK,
WA - 6.29 acres with an indoor arena, horse barn, shop, with a new
2,254 square feet of home, built in 2009 with too many amenities to list.
A must see! $625,000. RG#02916
TIN PAN MEADOWS - UMATILLA COUNTY, WESTON, OR -
Investment opportunity. 102 +/- forested acres off of Hwy 204 south of
Walla Walla. 65 acres are zoned FR (Forest Residential) which allows
for the development of 5 acre tracts. Power to the property and a good
well. Lots of wildlife. May be suitable for a conservation easement.
WMU 54. $525,000. RG#02416
SIMPSON ROAD DRYLAND WHEAT FARM
UMATILLA COUNTY, PENDLETON, OR
REDUCED - Oregon-316.32 acres at the
junction of Stage Gulch and Simpson
Road in dryland wheat production. In
2017, the Seller produced 97 bushels per
acre. $249,000. RG#02917
the owner of the home.
In certain circumstances, a wife may
have an interest in her marital residence.
You mentioned that your wife’s father was
divorced and presumably the ex-wife did
not, or no longer has, any legal interest in the
home. If it is true that she has no legal right to
be in the home and no legal right as an owner
of the property, your wife may need to evict
her if she is unwilling to move out volun-
tarily.
The eviction process will involve going
to court and filing papers to have the sheriff
evict the ex-wife from the home. You may
need (or want) the assistance of an attorney
for the process.
Before it comes to legal proceedings, your
wife needs to have a thorough understanding
of the legal ownership of the home. She might
want to hire an attorney to go over the docu-
ments with her and give her a complete under-
standing of what her rights are and the next
steps she might need to take. If the ex-wife
has a legal claim of some sort, your wife will
have to work through that. If her father owed
money to his ex-wife, for example, your wife
would have to take care of that issue or nego-
tiate a settlement with the ex-wife.
In essence, your wife will need to evaluate
what it will cost her in time, effort, legal fees
and other costs to evict the ex-wife and what
it might cost her to negotiate a settlement to
get her out of the home. Good luck.
BIG BUTTERCREEK CRP - MORROW COUNTY, ECHO, OR
- CRP income property. 186.9 acres of land with 157.7 acres
of CRP. Annual CRP payment of $10,992 with power and well
located on the property. CRP contract runs through 2020. The
balance of the property is range pasture. $295,000. #RG03515
PILOT ROCK IRRIGATED ACRES
UMATILLA COUNTY, PILOT ROCK, OR
76 +/- deeded ac / East Birch Creek running
through the property. 63.3 acres containing
water rights. 27 ac alfalfa and grass mix and
37 ac wheat hay. Irrigated with 3 wheel lines
& sub-irrigation. 40’x46’ metal shop, equipment
yard and 2 wells. Buildable lot within the city
limits. $385,000. RG#01517
SKEELS PROPERTY - UNION COUNTY, UNION, OR - Secluded
buildable 80 +/- acres near Tollgate and the Spout Springs Ski Resort.
Mixed timbered and open parcel on the breaks of Lookingglass Creek.
Forest Road access is seasonal. Bordered on 2 sides by Umatilla
National Forest. Great view property. WMU 56. $290,000. RG#02316
ELKHORN MOUNTAIN GETAWAY RANCH - BAKER COUNTY,
BAKER CITY, OR - 230 +/- acres timber parcel located between Rock
Creek and Muddy Creek. Adjacent to ODFW area at the base of the
Elkhorn Mountains. Buildable. Located 8 mi West of Haines. $229,000
RG#00717
BALLARD CREEK - BAKER COUNTY, OXBOW, OR - 160 acres hunters
paradise surrounded by BLM xand NF 3 sides. Good water and timber. Zoned
timber/grazing. $160,000. #RG01916
SEE BACK PAGE
MISSOURI GULCH DRYLAND
WHEAT/CRP FARM
UMATILLA COUNTY, PENDLETON, OR
REDUCED - 394.73 total acres of which 172 acres
are enrolled in CRP through 2022 with balance
of acres in production. The farm is located in the
Missouri Gulch area, northwest of Pendleton.
Clean farm. Production records available.
$312,000. RG#02914
101 S.E. 3RD • P.O. Box 1614 • PENDLETON, OR 97801
Phone: (541) 278-4444
E-Mail: farms@whitneylandcompany.com