Depends on what the trust says, what assets are available to trust, etc. 

What can people do to preserve their family assets, land, and investment property?

A trustee would manage the house and any other assets that may pass to your brother.Do note that the transfer may cause a reassessment for property tax purposes. 

The only asset to be inherited from my father is his house which was purchased in the early 70's and has very low property tax due to prop 13. 

What is the size of the trust - is the residence the biggest asset? 

However, my financial situation is looking upwards from how it was in the past and I feel excited and ready to get serious about starting to invest.

@Ryan Espinosa Newly passed Proposition 19 will have potentially severe financial consequences for children inheriting property from their parents.

So, he may not be familiar with the choices necessary to make good deals where the housing stock and financials are different just like I would not be familiar with the choices common in his market where housing stock and deals are very different from my market.

There are multiple places in TN and other states that can offer either STR or LTR with reasonable purchase prices.If you can still cash flow on that rental and take out cash I would lean towards the cash out refinance and preserve the future equity/asset.

Or, real estate is a fine asset class and historically has been a solid hedge against inflation.