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Call the water company and tell them to turn it back on. What have you got to lose?
The water company as she has already said, can only turn the water on for an owner or a legal renter. She is neither, and has no rights to live in the home, and the water company cannot set up an account with the OP.
As her living in the home was as a caretaker, when the owner died, at that point she no longer has a right to live in the home.
The home is owned by a by a living trust, which the owner apparently had established. The trust says who is the new owner following the owners death, and does not have to go through probate as the ownership passes at time of death in accordance with how the living trust was set up. This is the purpose of a living trust. The property is owned separately from the estate of the deceased in some cases, and others everything is in the living trust including all assets including money.
Wages and other debts, have to go to whoever is the executor for the estate. They have to advertise for any unpaid bills, and the claims must be made by a certain date. Then they are settled. It can take a year or more, before an estate is settled and the bills all paid. If there is not enough money to pay all the bills, some may never be paid. We just went through this, and it took 15 months to complete everything. Fortunately there was sufficient money for the executor to pay all bills as they came in, and it was just a matter of going through the legal process before it was all complete.
Problem, there may not be any money to pay the wages, and the bills in the OPs case. Which may be the reason the OP has not been paid. There may be no money to pay her. And how the living trust was set up and how long it has existed may be another factor. If the trust included all the owners affairs, it is one thing. If on the other hand the house was all that was in the living trust, and the other assets were separate and part of the estate, then it is another thing all together.
The reason the eviction was started then stopped to be started by the new owner, can be very simple. If it was started by the estate, and as the property was not part of the estate, the estate had no right to do an eviction on property it did not own. When a mistake was realized, it was stopped and the new owner has to start it all over again. Not an unusual thing to happen.
I firmly believe in a living trust to hold real estate.
In Montana we have something different. It is a deed you make out today, and is not filed until the person dies. It is a special deed, and the best way to hold property. On our deaths, it will be filed and our 3 sons will own the property immediately. It is a large executive home on 5 acres across the street from the best part of town. Also included are the papers to transfer all our personal property including cars to our sons on our deaths. Cleaner even than a trust. Our bigger bank accounts, are all POD (paid on death), which automatically change from our names to the names of our sons on our deaths. One bank account is kept with just enough to pay all bills plus enough to take care of funerals when needed. We use this as our monthly account, funding it when needed to be added to. On our deaths, money is there to pay the bills and the rest of everything is set up for our sons to own. No need to go to probate. We have no debt, and have not had any debts beside monthly bills, for over 25 years. Easiest estate to finalize there ever can be.
Thank you for the advise everyone, I appreciate it very much. After reading every response the message that is most clear to me is that at the end of the day, not having a detailed contact, and a back-up plan are the two BIG mistakes I made. FOR the record, I love my dog and her babies and they get water and food before I do when there is a choice to make, and to answer how have I been getting by since May 1st. There is a small church around the corner that my mother went to and I became close to everyone there during the 3 years I have been in this area. Every day at least on person from that church comes over, beings me bottled water, food, dog, food, whatever I need. They have seen the work I did here and also for my mother and most if them have written letter to the court for me with statements supporting my claims. I am not a caregiver by trade, I am a website designer. There is so much more to this story that I don't have enough time to explain, but here is an interesting point. Before anyone is quick to judge, it should be noted that no person is ever completely prepared for every possibility. I believed that the family and the trustee of the estate would be more than happy to honor whatever their father made known as his wishes, because that is the right thing to do. I know now how naïve I have been. People DONT always do the thing that is morally right (I seem to have a problem learning this=not sure why) I came to this area to MEET my mother. You see, I was adopted out when I was a baby and raised by wonderful loving parents who completely supported every thought or idea that ever came out of my mouth, including my desire to know who my biological parents were. They are both passed, and I thought it was time to go see where the heck I came from...Well, I found my birth mother and came 500 miles to meet her. I noticed she seemed to take an awful lot of ibuprophen, and I insisted she see a doctor (she hadn't seen a doctor in 20 years.) She had stage 4 liver cancer. She was alone, she had zero money and she was a caregiver for an elderly lady. That was obviously no longer going to work. I promised her I would stay with her, I spent every last penny I had getting a place for us, moving my life to this area, and caring for her. WHY? because she did something so unselfish for me. She gave me up. and I had a great life. She suffered her whole life in poverty and was STILL one of the sweetest people I have ever met. I stayed literally by her side until she passed 9 months. I had no idea that was going to happen when I came here for what was supposed to be a two week visit to meet her. I always say she gave me 9 months and made sure I was loved and cared for--and I gave her those 9 months right back, and made sure she was loved a cared for. Her friends form church had a place to come and say goodbye to her instead of her dying laying on some ones couch or in a hospital without any family. (her other kids are incarcerated, and their father is passed.) two days after she passed, the man I have been caring for and whos family has been the subject of this story, called me and asked if I could come stay with him and take care of him. (my birth mother had been his housekeeper, and friend) Without any idea what I WANTED to do next I made that commitment, and I was here 2 years, and you all know the rest. I love my puppies and my dog and there is no way I am giving them up. so maybe I am a little sentimental about my dogs, maybe I am my own worst enemy? WHO KNOWS. BUT for the last time, I just wanted to HAVE SOMEONE respond to this post who had been through something like this regarding how to get the water turned on. I wasn't expecting to be reminded of the rights of the other parties I mentioned, or be condemned for what someone believes is neglect of my dog and her babies...I JUST WANT TO GET THE WATER TURNED ON HERE. GEEZ!!!!
Oh and the house WAS a part of the living trust. The trustee distributed it to the beneficiary a couple of weeks after the eviction started. So now that's the owner. ALSO, The trustee said I could remain here if I cooperated with him, so at that point he turned me into a tenant...no longer an employee by his own verbal contract with me. I'm just saying. This isn't fair and I'm disappointed in the behavior, that's not a legal defense I realize that. Thanks again for the comments and advice...most of them anyway.
It is reasonably clear you are a tenant virtually anywhere. Some claim TX is different but in CA or virtually anywhere you are a tenant and have to be dealt with as a holdover tenant. The tenancy comes about because part of your compensation was a right to live there. That makes you a tenant.
Turning the water off in such circumstances is blatantly illegal. But they did it.
In respond you have to go to court. Unless you are skilled enough to do that pro se you need a lawyer.
Given your situation you appear a classic client for legal aide. Water off creates an emergency situation and might well get quick relief.
the reason I'm staying: I have no where else to go. My dog just gave birth to puppies, so no one is going to rent to me. they are too little to find homes for, I have no money to move. I don't have savings ( My dog had o have a C-section that took my savings of 4000.) The estate owes me unpaid wages. That is an entirely separate claim, and until it's settled I don't have the money to move even if it weren't for the puppies. I'm not going to allow the eviction to go on my credit. That won't be even possible for another few months. I'm dead broke. The man I took care of didn't die of cancer, or any other condition where you can clearly see someone is close to passing away. There was no warning and he was fine a week before he passed. He simply died of old age, quietly, at home, exactly as he wanted to. he was 94 years old. He could have lived 5 minutes after I got there or 5 years or who knows? But I certainly didn't have an exit plan prepared. SO that is why I am still here. Because there is no where else I can go, because I have no money. If I could move out now, I would. That is why I'm hoping someone who has been through this or a very similar situation will stumble upon this and let me know what they did. Im not sure why the trustee wont just pay me out of court for the wages and I will be gone immediately. HE is the one delaying the move NOT me. He didn't care about his dad and he doesn't care about me, Im sure is why...I cant be the only person this has ever happened to...someone out there hopefully will see this and understand MY side of everything. I even made them an offer to settle for half of what Im actually owed and he never responded even to say NO THANKS...no one has come bu to see the house to check on it or me or anything...that is so weird to me!! I need WATER. That's what Im asking for information about and also I have no money for an attorney, NO money for ANYTHING. See?
This probably is NOT what you are asking for, but I will write it anyway so you may understand the 'other side of the issues'.
My mom recently passed, in April. I was left her rentals and house to manage. Once the banks knew of her passing, they froze her accounts. ALL the utility bills were paid directly from the checking account. So, since the bank refused to let any of the MAY bills go through, I received notices from all the utilities.
However, I had no money of hers to pay for these bills. Her estate had money, but I did not have access to any of it as there are processes to access the money. And we did not even get a death certificate, which is the first step until June--nearly 6 weeks after she passed.
In my cases I PERSONALLY paid for the utility bills out of MY PERSONAL savings account. I am just now able to access my mom's money to reimburse myself for the bills. And with the gardener, pool man, and utilities I was out about $1000 a month, plus another $1000 when the hot water heater went out at a rental and I had to replace that too. And another $250 for water filters at mom's home as they came due for replacement, plus $400 for a water leak. So, my savings was pretty depleted. And I now have a ton of utility bills in my name....as they could not be continued in my deceased mom's name.
So, in your case, likely the utilities were turned off for non-payment and on one had the funds / desire to pay the old bill and open a new account to pay for your water usage. With no income you would never pay them back. It would just be lost money to them.
Without a rental agreement, 3-4 months is a lot of time to get your act together and move. You should have moved before the puppies were born.
And likely you will not be paid without a written agreement that says how much you are to be paid, and that may have to go through probate before you get paid. The person you cared for may have tons of assets. However the family can not just 'get' them. There are processes and they take time.
I also am evicting the tenants and gave them the legally required 60 day notice to vacate. They were not happy, but the property will be sold and so they must leave. OH, and this is all in CA too.
the house I live in was part of a living trust and the owner passed away. His trustee refuses to answer my calls, was trying to evict me, turned off the water and power, and transferred the house into the persons name who inherited it right before our court date. The trustees attorney called me and cancelled the eviction, and said the new owner would probably be starting the eviction over from the start, but has not done so yet.
I have a written statement from the decedent saying his trustee was NOT to evict me and to delay the transfer of the house until I moved out. My letter is not part of the living trust documents, but should still have some merit shouldn't it? and what happened that caused the eviction to be cancelled? I'm GLAD but confused. Can someone shed some light on this? Do I have any rights? I don't even know how to get ahold of the new owner and I have no water services! (I cant get it turned on without a rental agreement)
I spoke to the trustee's brother today and he said his sister inherited the house but shes out of town for a few weeks. Going to court was my only hope of talking to ANYONE about this, I NEED WATER TURNED ON and I have no where else to go and brand new puppies that were just born to deal with, I know that's not relevant but I have had so many people say for me to just leave. I can't leave.
You need to move. Anyone can claim they have a letter, but unless it's notarized or part of the will/estate/trust documents, you're out of luck. Do you want the expense of going to court? It's not free!
I understand, thank you for responding and I agree with you that I need to move and that court is not cheap. Speaking of court not being free, if anyone knows how to file an injunction in California, or has done it or has a good example of one I could use that. There is no premade form on the court forms website for California so I guess that means it has to be done on 28 line pleading paper? this is a little intimidating, but I think I can do it properly with a little guidance. So, if anyone is willing to help Im all eyes and ears.
You need to move. Anyone can claim they have a letter, but unless it's notarized or part of the will/estate/trust documents, you're out of luck. Do you want the expense of going to court? It's not free!
Even if the OP went to court, the court would likely give him a 60 day eviction order and allow him to open a water account for those 60 days in his name. So, in CA, he likely will need a security deposit for the water of about $200 unless he has spectacular credit.
So even going to court is not going to get him what he wants. And likely he does not have the money to turn on the water.
Since the OP is no longer caring for a client in the home, I doubt that the court would order that he be given water at the property owner's expense.
And his back wages, if any, would be a separate case and likely all the wages are offset by his not vacating the home. I have hired many live in nannies, and there are definite formulas for how much credit room and board is given against the salary. With 3-4 months of room and board or at least room, he likely has exceeded the salary owed by his use of the boarding without providing a service.
Oh and the house WAS a part of the living trust. The trustee distributed it to the beneficiary a couple of weeks after the eviction started. So now that's the owner. ALSO, The trustee said I could remain here if I cooperated with him, so at that point he turned me into a tenant...no longer an employee by his own verbal contract with me. I'm just saying. This isn't fair and I'm disappointed in the behavior, that's not a legal defense I realize that. Thanks again for the comments and advice...most of them anyway.
You sound like a very sweet lady who has gone through the deaths of 3 parents already, but now you seem determined to keep yourself planted in the middle of another family's grief and causing trouble after their father's death.
You're in their house, not paying them, you have 4-5 dogs that they never approved. There are many loving people that are caregivers and pet lovers, but that doesn't give any of them the right to squat in someone else's home once their patient has passed. How do you clean up after the dogs with no water? This is a bad situation, you need to get in the car and go. Leave this family alone. Find a cheap motel that takes dogs, see if someone from the church knows anyone who needs live in help. I just don't understand imposing on people.
Whatever the trustee may have said means nothing in real estate, there are no verbal contracts, everything must be written. And what did he really say in that email, that you could stay a few more days? That you could live there for free forever? Makes no sense. Their lives need to move forward, yours should too.
What about where you used to live? You said your visit to your birth mom was going to be just 2 weeks. Is going back to your old roots an option?
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