Trouble with Trustee

[architraz]

What is the name of your state? California

My Father-in-law pased away earlier this year, leaving a trust divided three ways between my wife, her brother, and the stepmom, who is the Trustee. My wife and her brother are unable to get any verifiable information from the trustee, who has assumed control of most of the assets that were not specifically distributed in the trust, i.e wages earned but not paid, bank accounts and his IRA. The question we have is what rights do the beneficiaries have to force the trustee to produce an inventory and appraisal or any other verifiable accounting of what the trust assets are? The will transferred all assets outside of the trust to the trust, but we do not know the value of these assets, or which ones were held jointly and which were not becuase we do not have the statements. We have been told they were all joint and therefore are hers, a claim which we are 99% sure is not correct. We do know that the value of these assets would likely just be under the $100,000 minimum to require a probate. On what timetable would this disclosure typically happen? We are trying to handle the situation with as little conflict as possible.

 

[Dandy Don]

Check at the county courthouse probate court to see if the will has been filed for probate. It is common for most of the assets to be put into the trust so that probate of a regular will is normally not necessary, with the trust including a "pour-over will" clause that retroactively claims any and all assets that were not put into the trust.

Does the will name your wife and other people as beneficiaries?

If your wife has not yet received a copy of the trust, she needs to request one by sending a certified letter to the trustee requesting such, and an accounting statement. She may be currently in the process of managing the affairs of the trust, so you may want to ask her for some type of estimate of when she plans to make the trust distribution (it may take about a month or more to achieve, depending on how simple or how complex the assets are that comprise the trust). So it may take some time for her to complete the accounting statement. If you get no response or if you feel she is stalling out of spite, retain an attorney to help get answers.

DANDY DON IN OKLAHOMA ([email protected])

 

[mkawahara]

accounting

California Probate Code requires that the beneficiaries of a living trust be given an accounting of the trust assets, income, expenses and liabilities when the trust becomes irrevocable upon the death of the settlor.

That means you have the right to request an accounting and you must be given one. In your case, you probably really need one, if you can't trust the trustee. You also have the right to object to the accounting within six months if there are some things missing or not accurate.

A pour-over will takes care of items obtained after the creation of the trust. You need the trust instrument to know what everyone is getting and what may be in it.

look up these sections of the CA probate code: SECTION 16060-16064
http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/calaw.html

If the estate is as small as you say, it's probably too small to hire an attorney to force distribution. But you might want to consult an attorney anyway to get advice on procedure and your rights. That could be a good investment.