TL;DR.
All joking aside... in CA, "constructive" or "self-service" eviction processes, including shutting off of utilities, are illegal without a specific court order allowing the landlord to take the specified actions.
Other than that, what you have is a very complicated case of poor decision-making based on trust and time-pressures, in that you have a verbal agreement (in essence) that was not even finalized prior to you taking possession of the home. Throw in the technicality of "house sitter" versus "tenant," the issues with probate and will contestation by the heirs, and the fact that the landlord is in a whole 'nother state, and you have a situation where an attorney really is required. This is too complicated and specific of a question to be effectively answered here.


