Expert: Diann Tonnesen - 9/27/2010

Question
if a house (which is in a trustin NYS) is signed to be sold and person (elderly mom who didn't know what she was getting into) changes mind not to sell (1 week after signing).  Furthermore, no deposits were made to agents and co-trustee to the house in trust never signed anything and refuses to sign anything.  Will there be any problems getting out of this situation?

Answer
Hi Joe,

I wish I could advise you, but this is really an attorney question best answered by a law firm in the state where the property is located. On the face of it, if there are two trustee signatures required, it should not be any problem to void the sale. If only one trustee signature is required, then you will need to have an attorney look over the contracts.

I have usually found that the best course is to let all parties know what is going on as soon as possible, and before any money is spent. I would contact the agent acting on your mom's behalf and enlist his/her help in getting this all straightened out. Most buyers don't want to have to fight to purchase a property, and they might appreciate being told so quickly that this would be an uphill battle should they choose to pursue it.

In Nevada, you would have to take the seller to court to enforce selling a property. It takes a good two years and lots of money, and I have known of only one situation in 27+ years (residential purchase) where a buyer was willing to go to that extent. Usually it is pretty easy to cancel a valid transaction, especially if the seller is willing to reimburse the buyer for any out of pocket expenses like appraisal or inspections. If this is a commercial parcel, anything is possible, however, as large sums of money are usually involved and it may be worth it to the buyer to go for it.

I wish you much luck. It is never an easy situation dealing with the elderly and trusts. Again, I would go to her agent and explain why this is not going to happen and see if they can't quietly make the whole thing go away.