Trust and Pour Over Will

[LMB3]

What is the name of your state? CA

I am the trustee of a trust. The trust was amended 4 years ago to disinherit some relatives. The trust has been amended but the pour over will within the trust was not amended. The owner of the trust believed she only had to amend the trust to disinherit those included in the pour over will. Is this the case? What is my recourse to abide by the deceased wishes regarding the disinherited?What is the name of your state?What is the name of your state?

 

[seniorjudge]

If you are saying you amended the trust only but not the will, then if a lawyer did this, you may want to consider a malpractice suit.




Q: What is my recourse to abide by the deceased wishes regarding the disinherited?

A: You must start a lawsuit and get the court to issue a judgment, telling you what you must do.

 

[tranquility]

I'm not sure of the problem and I certainly don't see any malpractice. (Unless the facts start to get way weird.) First, what do you mean the will is in the trust? Usually a pour-over will takes care of the untitled assests outside of the trust and "pours" them into the trust. There may be other beneficiaries in the pour-over as well. Once the assets are in the trust the trust is followed. If the trust is amended, the pour-over may not have to be amended but often is to make sure everyone knows you are putting all the excess into the trust as amended. Even then, an amended trust is still the same trust and a properly drafted will will not have a problem putting the assets into the trust.

If the pour-over has the people removed from being beneficiaries in the trust as heirs, it will control before the assets get to the trust. But, that is not the usual form of a pour-over will.

 

[Dandy Don]

Take the document to a trust attorney to get an interpretation. We can't give you precisely exact advice because we can't see the language/terminology of the document. Does the trust mention the EXACT REASON she is disinheriting the particular beneficiaries?

Please explain the exact discrepancy that has occurred. Are you saying that the pour-over will mentions beneficiaries who are elsewhere disinherited in the trust?

DANDY DON IN OKLAHOMA ([email protected])