u/SamDent

Location: Arizona.

Friend of ours passed and left us in charge of his estate. House in question is under the trust, and we are the trustees.

Friend has/had a Roommate who lives in a guest house, which is part of the property, but separate from the main house.

As far as we know, there is no lease or paperwork of any kind outlining the Roommate's status. The closest thing we could find was an eviction document (you can see where this is going,) calling it a "verbal periodic leasehold for the guest house."

The Roommate claims they were hired to do work around the property, and lives there as a caretaker. This, too, has no paperwork, but may have been mentioned, promised, or referenced in a text.

Before they passed, the Friend tried to evict the Roommate.

In March of this year, the Friend had filed a five day notice to pay or quit against the Roommate. We have a copy of the document the Roommate received via certified mail, and the certified mail receipt.

The notice states that if the Roommate fails to vacate the property by May 1st, our Friend would have (had) the option of filing an eviction lawsuit to recover unpaid rent, damages, etc.

To date, the Roommate has not paid, nor have they left the property.

1. What is our next steps in evicting them?

The Roommate had/has access to the main house, though we are trying to get the locks changed. They are trying to bring their family into the main house for a vacation.

Also, they have verbally confirmed they have taken some of the Friend's items out of the main house, presumably to the guest house to keep them.

1. What is the quickest and easiest way to stop this?

The Twist: The Roommate is part of the Trust/Estate. We are getting the majority, but they are getting a smaller portion (as well as a couple other people.)

We have tried contacting an estate lawyer, but, so far, can't get an appointment until the 15th of July.

Is there anyone out there that has dealt with this stuff that could point us in the right direction.