Essential documents when trustee dies

[curlyq]

Jurisdiction

California

MY mom died in FEB of this year. SHE was primary trustee of the house.

I filed all of the necessary documents at the LA reg/rec's and Assessor's offices. I now own the house as single person. I was successor trustee.

My mom bought the house in '62 jointly with my dad, then he gave his 1/2 to her upon the divorce. She then put it in a trust a few years ago.

I obviously need to keep the NEW grant deed, but

1. DO I need to keep the paper trail of deeds, which would be the 1962 deed, the 1966 deed upon divorce, and the 2022 deed that put the house in her trust?

2. DO I need to keep the COUNTY assessor's yearly bills going back to 1962, as my mom has done?

3. DO I need to keep the 2022 trust document? After all, I have already satisfied the trust by transferring the house to myself; nothing was in the trust but the house.

4. Are you aware of other documents that I should keep or get? I rapidly am becoming overwhelmed with piles of paper, some of which I probably could discard...I mean SHRED.

5. I just obtained the Date of Death appraisal. I should keep that in case I sell the house because the D of D established a cost basis for the house. If the Irs audits my mom's estate --which was so far under the threshold of $12.92 mil as to be laughable--when I file the final 1040 tax return for her next year, I guess that I would submit the D of D as proof of the house's worth, but otherwise, when would I use IT?

Thanks

 

[adjusterjack]

Keep everything.

Get yourself a high speed document scanner like the Canon R40 that scans up to 40 pages, both sides.

Save the files to your computer and get a separate high capacity hard drive for back up.

Then shred to your heart's content.

You might never have to look at that stuff but if you ever did, it will all be at your fingertips.

 

[curlyq]

adjusterjack--

I see. Better to be safe than sorry, as I would regret having discarded something that became important 10 years down the road, although I do not know WHY I would suddenly need those docs!

 

[zddoodah]

MY mom died in FEB of this year. SHE was primary trustee of the house.

I assume you mean that she was the trustee of a trust that held title to the house (I'll assume it was her home).

I filed all of the necessary documents at the LA reg/rec's and Assessor's offices. I now own the house as single person. I was successor trustee.

Just to be clear: You recorded an affidavit of death of trustee and then, in your capacity as trustee, deeded the house to yourself as an individual. Correct?

DO I need to keep the paper trail of deeds, which would be the 1962 deed, the 1966 deed upon divorce, and the 2022 deed that put the house in her trust?

Deeds are typically no more than 3-4 pages, so I see no downside. Of course, they're all public record, but there's no reason not to keep a small handful of documents (at a bare minimum, keep scans).

DO I need to keep the COUNTY assessor's yearly bills going back to 1962, as my mom has done?

You mean property tax statements? If so, no. That's just hoarding.

DO I need to keep the 2022 trust document?

You don't "need to" have it until you do. How big is it? Probably no more than 25 pages? As with the old deeds, at a bare minimum, keep scans.

Are you aware of other documents that I should keep or get?

No, but no one here is familiar with your situation beyond what's in your post.

I just obtained the Date of Death appraisal. I should keep that in case I sell the house because the D of D established a cost basis for the house.

Of course you should keep it. You didn't obtain it just to get rid of it.

but otherwise, when would I use IT?

When you sell the house and then you get audited? Again, it's one of those things that don't need until you do, and if you do need it, you'll kick yourself if you don't have it.

 

[adjusterjack]

adjusterjack--

I see. Better to be safe than sorry, as I would regret having discarded something that became important 10 years down the road, although I do not know WHY I would suddenly need those docs!

I'll give you a couple of examples that I have read on this and other legal forums on occasions over the last few decades.

I recall several posts from people who received auto tax bills from Connecticut 10 or 15 years after they sold the car and long ago moved away from Connecticut. The bills went to collection and trashed their credit scores. Of course they had no records so all they could do was pay up.

There have been cases where people have been pulled over for a traffic stop only to be arrested on a decades old warrant on an old citation that the state said was unpaid but the drivers insist was paid. Of course they had no records either.

What if your credit card company adds $500 to your bill plus late fees for a payment you didn't make that you, of course did make, but they say they have no record. You go to your computer and pull up the payment confirmation that you saved and you shove it in their face (figuratively).

You have a mortgage? Mortgage companies are notorious for screwing up payment records and impound account. When I still had paper files they were inches thick with frequent letters about their mistakes.

You get the idea.

 

[curlyq]

zddoodah wrote:
I assume you mean that she was the trustee of a trust that held title to the house (I'll assume it was her home).

--Yes, you are absolutely correct.

zddoodah wrote:
Just to be clear: You recorded an affidavit of death of trustee and then, in your capacity as trustee, deeded the house to yourself as an individual. Correct?

--YES, exactly!

zddoodah wrote:
Deeds are typically no more than 3-4 pages, so I see no downside. Of course, they're all public record, but there's no reason not to keep a small handful of documents (at a bare minimum, keep scans).

--MY grant deed was a miniscule PAGE, with a 2nd page for the notary to sign! I will gladly keep it and the previous ones, but the clerk at the REG/REC's office said when she approved it and congratulated me, 'IF somebody ever asks you who owns the house, you can tell him that you do and show him this deed.' SHE pointed to the original. I smiled.

"However," she continued, "he could scoff at you and question the legality of it; therefore, I strongly suggest that you pay $6 to let me certify the deed by stamping it with the county seal, and do the same for the Affidavit of Death, homestead Declaration, and Preliminary change of Ownership so that your proof would be irrefutable.''

I paid and she did it. HER words made me think that the stamps and those docs would be all that I ever would need, but I can see the wisdom of KEEPING everything, as my mom always did, except for 62 years of Property Tax statements.

Thanks very much!

adjusterjack

I am lucky not to have a mortgage, but I always keep 1 year of credit card bills for both of my cards, the bank statements for my checking acct, and a few other bills such as water/power, gas, and phone, car and house insurance, OLD IRS and FTB tax returns, and so on, all of which are PAPER. You are right that I should err on the side of caution, if I understood you correctly. Catching those people in a lie, or 'error,' as they might put it, might be a time-consuming inconvenience, but I would be well-armed. THANKS.