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I bought real property from a living trust and the seller did not disclose problems about the house do I sue the trust

Asked over 3 years ago - Centereach, NY

I purschaes a home in NY from a seller that has a living trust. MY lawyer told me at contract that since it was a living trust, the seller does not have to divolge any problems about the house. After we moved in i found some structural damage. Do i have any leagal recourse

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Attorney answers (3)

Thomas Glenn Martin

Reputation Level 11

Answered over 3 years ago. Trusts Attorney in Long Beach, CA.

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I am a California lawyer so I can't speak to New York law. However, in California, you would sue the trustee of the living trust, rather than the living trust itself. I can't imagine how, under any law, the seller is relieved from its disclosure obligations because it is a living trust. In California, the trustee is obligated to disclose what s/he knows to the buyer.

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Thomas Eugene Stindt

Reputation Level 10

Answered about 3 years ago. Trusts Attorney in Los Angeles, CA.

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A Trustor/Settlor of a living trust generally cannot insulate himself from liability for non-disclosures by attempting to interpose his revocable trust as a shield. Because the trust is still revocable, the law of most jurisdictions will disregard it and make the trustor responsible. Were the trustor deceased, and the trust then irrevocable, special rules relenting disclosure responsibilities can apply, even in California, where a decedent's estate or irrevocable trust does not have to complete the same disclosure form as other sellers. However, that doesn't grant complete immunity to such sellers from liability for damages for known defects.

Sounds like you may have some remedies to consider against the trustee and the Trustor(s), if statutory time limits have not passed. This doesn't mean you automatically win, it just means that you aren't automatically barred from raising a claim.

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Margery Ellen Golant

Reputation Level 18

Answered almost 3 years ago. Foreclosure Attorney in Boca Raton, FL.

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While I do not practice in your state, it is hard to imagine why a trust would not have to disclose known defects. It is more likely that the law is that a third party seller would not have the same disclosure obligation if it did not know of condition issues that the actual occupant would have known. Also, in many cases the trustee of the living trust is the same person or people who were the owners before the trust was created.

Assuming that there are substantial issues that impact the unit you purchased, it may well be that you would not have gone ahead had you known about the conditions that underly the lawsuit.

State laws differ, but generally there is a duty to disclose defects which are or should be known by the seller. Please note that I do not practice in your state and that the above is not intended as legal advice, it is for educational purposes only. No attorney-client relationship is created or is intended to be created hereby. You should contact a local attorney to discuss and to obtain legal advice.

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