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My brother is Trustee. It's a fairly straightforward Trust.....cash, bonds, condo.....but communication has been difficult.

In June of 2015, he sold his house in TX and moved into Mom's condo in FL (Mom was in AL). Mom passed in late October, 2016. My Mom's beachfront condo is a significant piece of her estate, valued @$450K.
My brother wants to buy the condo but also wants an additional discount based on his work as Trustee. OK, understandable, BUT....he has lived in Mom's condo since June, 2015 w/her or her Estate, since she passed, paying all expenses.....so....for FREE.....
These beachfront condos rent for $5000/month during Jan//Feb/Mar....
No....we never asked him for rent. I live and work 2000 miles away, my sister lived overseas, the condo was vacant.....we all tried to do a "tag team" effort in visiting her....we would stay in her very lovely condo.
My sister and I are not trying to be greedy...we want the estate settled and are happy if brother wants to buy the condo, BUT....we feel that he is being petty....yes, greedy....on this "discounted" price (his purchase price would already be $150K below valuation).
Were we stupid/naive in not asking him to pay rent? Or.....are we way out of line in thinking his demand is a bit much? Or....both....???

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Hey there, Mina...glad to see you, but sorry it's under such circumstances.

Keep us posted when you can. I hope someone here with similar issues can give you some insight.
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Well....I just typed a response updating things....it wouldn't post....another reason I don't visit the site too often these days.
But....thank you Madge, Ali and MAC for taking the time to share your thoughts....much appreciated!!!
NOTHING has moved forward with the Estate since I originally posted. Once I've recovered from being furious over not being able to post my original response to you, I'll be back with more detail.
Thanks for the sweet sentiments and I sincerely hope things are going well for you!
xo....mina
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To my mind, bro already received a significant "discount" or "payment" for being Trustee for living rent free for some time. The condo should be purchased at fair market value... unless there are other mitigating circumstances.

In my area, Trustee annual fees are around $5k.  Bro has received, and is asking for, significantly more than that.  
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And I have missed seeing you around on AC, Mina. Hope all is reasonably well!
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What about having a neutral 3rd party - any accounting firm would be up to the task, I would think - do a rundown of benefits to the 3 inheritors, and seeing how the numbers turn out according to a neutral 3rd party? Then when you have numbers, you could be in better position to approach bro to say - "you're getting x amount more inheritance due to free rent, do you think you deserve x amount more based on your work as Trustee?" and go from there.

I assume that he took the position of Trustee w/o being given other compensation? I've known of some situations where between $3500-$5k is given as annual Trustee fees.
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HI Mina,

We miss you and sorry to hear about how this is turning out

I'm bringing this post back up and maybe someone with a similar experience will respond
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