Bought a home 1996 find out today that in 2002 the last owners filed a deed of trust

I suggest that you have an experienced real estate attorney examine the title report you have received which shows this problem, the deed to you in 1996, your deed of trust to your lender in 1996, and this 2002 deed of trust by the sellers. Maybe it's not as big a problem as someone is trying to make of it.   If the sellers are dead, then unless there was a court probate of their estates, there is no way to know who inherited that deed of trust and is authorized to undo it. Many people have revocable living trusts specifically to avoid probate. If the sellers did not own any real estate when they passed away, and the estate was not large, there might not have been any probate case. So asking you to do anything to remove this cloud might be asking the impossible. Dana Sack 510-286-2200