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nwitczek

Junior Member
What is the name of your state? Minnesota

In a nut shell.

Dad died. Made a living trust that everything he owned was to go into. However NOTHING was transferred into the Trust's name until AFTER he passed away. Everything was to be left to the 4 sons. The "executer" or person named to make sure all 4 sons received equal halves keep making excuses. According to the Living Trust everything should've been transferred in 2004 when it was signed. (It is also just a generic one that is not state specific, it was printed offline) He died 2007. About a month later the "executor" transferred everything to the trust. According to the Trust and the Will the house did not have to be sold. It was left to all 4 sons with equal shares. And if one needed to live there they could, rent free. There was a son who had been living there actually for the last 16 years. He was forced from the house. Actually he was informed by the executor he had "25 days to qualify for a mortgage" to buy a house he already owned 25% of or he had to be out. Whenever this person has been questioned she says she has hired an attorney herself. however this attorney's fees are being charged to the trust, which she is on;y supposed to oversee, she is not a benefactor". So it's not her money. But she keeps charging things and getting it paid by the trust. When the son was forced to moved she PAID people $100 a day to help clean out the house because she said it had to be sold. Even though it never says that anywhere in any of the documents it has to be. The $100/per day she paid "volunteers" to clean the house out for sale was paid for from the trust.
She keeps coming up with different excuses as to not give the 4 sons their due money. I was under the assumption that before a house could be sold it had to have all leins removed. Well when she sold the house their was a lein that is 27 years old & the original holder of the lein (the company) is no longer. So she is holding $10,000 of the trusts money for a lein that is over 25 years old held by a company that no longer exists. However supposedly the house has been sold. (she is a real estate agent) They have asked her to step down from her post because she is uncooperative (it states in the trust that any benefactors have the right to ask her for receipts or documents relating to the trust and how it is being handled) However she can not produc them. And then she threatens with calling her attorney, which in turn takes more money out of the trust. One of the sons called the attorney to ask 1 question. He was on the phone all of maybe 10 minutes. However the executor then told all the sons "that one phone call cost $300" so none of the boys have the money to hire an attorney since she is holding all their money. Almost like ransom. And whenever they call the attorney she hired for herself they get charged. How can they remove her. She says only she can remove herself. However one of the sons is listed as 2nd executor & conservator. But she won't relinquish her title and whenever they question her it seems more money gets taken out. Hoiw can they get her out? The will states the money & assests to be divied up as soon as possible after the death. It has now been 8 months and the money just keeps disaoppearing. One of the things she charged was the flowers to cover the casket. It was thought as a nice gesture. Instead later it was found that a friend of hers does flowers, so she ordered them through a friend. and the casket flowers and her flowers were reimubursed from the trust.

HELP!
 


nwitczek

Junior Member
Mn Probate?

Also, I have been told that MN is a NON PROBATE state. I have also been told that the reason the LIVING trust was made was to avoid it going into probate. Is this still valid even though technically nothing was transferred to the LIVING TRUST till AFTER died? Then I was told it didn't matter if there was a trust or not, it HAD to go into probate. We've contacted a couple few lawyers. All who wasnt $350-550 just for the 1 hour consultation. Higher after that. They have no money now to pay for it. They would be glad to AFTER they got they're money. (Original will before the house was sold each son would've recieved about $15,000 each. The house was sold for almost $200,000) but they have only recieved $2,500. And everyday more things get charged to the account. She even had stamps and copies charged to the account. HER Lawyer, HER flowers, paying people to clean out the house instead of asking the family. She needs to be stopped before there is nothing left.
 

Dandy Don

Senior Member
The will and the trust are 2 separate documents that will be administered separately: the will in probate court, and the trust outside of court. The will is handled by the executor and the trust is handled by the trustee. In this case, is the trustee and the executor the same person? Is the trustee a relative or an attorney or neither? Your father must have had some level of trust in this person if he named her in charge, but people frequently abuse the position. If the will is a pour-over will, then it authorizes the trustee to claim any assets that were not put into the trust previously. Are there assets in the will that are not now in the trust?

Does the will or the trust mention that an executor's bond and/or a trustee's bond does not need to be posted because it is exempted?

An attorney will have to look at whether the house is titled in the trust's name or not to determine whether the trustee's actions in selling it were appropriate or not. The lien could still possibly be paid from the monies from the sale of the home or other trust assets.

The trustee's/executor's expenses may seem exorbitant but they are allowable under law. You do not need to worry about the trust/estate being drained because there will be enough money left over (assuming there is no massive amount of debt) to distribute to beneficiaries--all you all need to do is wait for it to be distributed. After you receive your checks, you can then consult a trust attorney and/or probate attorney to review the accounting statements for the trust and the estate to see if any breach of duty occurred and whether trustee should face charges or not.

However, if I were you, I would get a loan from a bank or credit union to pay an attorney's retainer fee to hire an attorney for consultation purposes only--if you had your own attorney as an intermediary to ask this trustee questions about what is occurring, the trustee would be put on notice that she is being watched and might be less likely to abuse her position.

DANDY DON IN OKLAHOMA ([email protected])
 
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S

Scott Dutcher

Guest
Generally speaking, trustees are required to act in the best interests of the beneficiaries of the trust. If they are not acting in the beneficiaries' best interests, you may petition a court to have the trustee removed. You will want to consult an attorney if you need to take that kind of action.

Additionally, you are entitled to an accounting of how the trustee is spending trust property. Here again, if the trustee refuses, you may petition a court for an order requiring an accounting. Both these powers are found in Minnesota Statute 501B.16.

Best of Luck,
 
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