Ross v. CMR Mortage Fund
Filed 3/16/06 Ross v. CMR Mortage Fund CA1/1
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NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS
California Rules of Court, rule 977(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 977(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 977.
IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA
FIRST APPELLATE DISTRICT
DIVISION ONE
| JANICE L. ROSS et al., Plaintiffs and Respondents, v. CMR MORTGAGE FUND, LLC, Defendant and Appellant. | A109354 (San Mateo County Super. Ct. No. 109241) |
CMR Mortgage Fund, LLC, appeals from an order granting the petition of Janice Ross and Daryl Ross for a determination of the invalidity of its liens on trust property and denying its motion to compel trustees to execute deeds to properties subject to the liens. We affirm.
PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND
The case arises from the administration of a revocable living trust dated March 6, 1986, following the death of the trustors, Arthur M. Ross and Grace B. Ross. The trust estate included two properties in Berkeley, California, on which the family business was located: 2680 Bancroft Way, the location of the Bancroft Hotel (Bancroft Hotel property) and 2300 College Avenue, the location of the Café Strada (the Café Strada property). The trust provided that, upon the death of the first trustor to die, the trust estate would be divided into three separate trusts, the Survivor's Trust, Exemption Trust, and Marital Income Trust. After the death of the survivor, the property in the Survivor's Trust and Marital Income Trust would be transferred to the Exemption Trust, which would be distributed in equal shares to the trustors' three children, Martin, Daryl and Janice. The children were named as successor trustees who would administer the Exemption Trust jointly after death of their parents. The trust contained a spendthrift provision prohibiting assignment of the beneficiaries' interest, which we will examine more closely later in this decision.
Grace died on January 10, 1995. As the survivor, Arthur had the power under the trust instrument to allocate the trust estate â€
