Wills and Trusts/Broker problems

What is the name of your state? Texas. I am the executor of and estate/trust and was told that there is supposed to be a $25,000.00 death benifit attached to an annuity owned by the deceased person and her son is the benificiary. When I contacted the broker he forwarded me to his secretary. When I asked her about it she said she didn't know anything about it. They later sent me information about 2 annuities in the deceased that must be colledted by Nov. 16 or they will be rolled over. in the cover letter from the company that holds the annuities it refers to the broker as the benficiary. Due to past problems the deceased had with her broker I concerned that he made himself beneficiary. He was sending copies of her monthly reports to her daughter behind her back and when she confronted him and said she was taking her business elsewhere the broker told her that her son would lose the death benefit if she moved her account. Now no one seems to know about this death benefit. I have an estate attorney but he seems to be too busy to look into the matter. What steps should I take to settle this matter? How do I find out if there was a death benefit or if the broker got it?

The fact that the broker would not talk to you directly about this matter is an indication that he may have something to hide, namely the fact that he probably forged a beneficiary designation form or did some type of computer hi-jinks to change it on the company computer from the son's name to his name. So it looks as if some type of fraud has been committed here.

Instead of contacting the broker, you need to speak with a customer service representative at the annuity company's office. What is the name and address of this annuity company? You should be able to find a phone number for their headquarters or regional office that hopefully is not the same office location where the broker works, or even if it is the same office where the broker works, then speak to someone higher up in charge (like a supervisor or office manager) who could give you information about this annuity. As an executor, you have the perfect right to ask for information about this and they are supposed to provide you with it.

You need to be finding out very soon exactly who it is who gets to make the decision about the Nov. 16 rollover--it is you as executor or is it the beneficiary/broker. You should be asking them to send you/fax you a copy of the beneficiary designation form that your deceased relative filled out so you can determine if that was your deceased relative's valid signature (but don't tell them the reason you are asking), and send them a fax or overnite letter requesting that they do not pay the beneficiary this money until an official determination can be made as to who the correct legal beneficiary is. You need to file an official complaint to have this matter investigated with the annuity company--raise a big stink now so that hopefully the annuity company will not pay him until the investigation is over. Briefly explain the circumstances about the reasons for your mother's unhappiness with this broker and what he said he was going to do--these are facts that the annuity company may not be aware of.

Does this broker work for the same annuity company or does he just possibly sell the annuity company's products and is not employed by them?

DANDY DON IN OKLAHOMA ([email protected])

There is General Electric and an ING annuity plus a couple of hundred thousand in stocks with this broker. The broker is with a well known company. I will do as you say and see what I can find out. I dropped off all the information on the annuities?roll over at my attorneys office so he could look at it and he tells me he can't find it. And yes, I forgot to get receipt when I dropped it off. The way the deceased one will reads is that her entire estate is left to me in Trust for her 49 year old son until he is 67 years old.

Was an official trust document ever made by the decedent? This probably was supposed to have been done and the annuities listed as part of the assets that funded the trust.

Does the will specifically mention the annuities or not?

What is the name of the company that the broker is with?

Its a trust that was included under the terms and conditions of the will to take effect at the death of the person making the will. I think its called a Testamentory Trust. Its been filed and I have been granted complete control in a court by a judge. I presented my documents to the stock brokers secretary because the broker was too busy to handle it or so he said. I hate to mention the name of the firm here for all to see. see email. The stocks and annuities are in the name of the deceased with the word Trust following it.Trying to get this part settled so I can go to Oklahoma.Ha! Also, there is a witness to the fact that the broker told the deceased that she had a 25,000 death benefit payable to her son. The secretary says she knows nothing of the. Before the deceased died her attorney told her to have the broker make everything payable to me so the son would not have to deal with anything. The broker kept sending her request back and telling her she had to make it payable to a trust. I have spent a great deal of time dealing with her estate/trust and the son.He is just mentally disabled enough to keep him from being gainfully employed but not institutionalized. I am not charging the estate or the trust for any of my time or out of pocket expenses. The attorney she used had me set up an estate account but I am thinking I should have set up a trust account. I am very worried the attorney is not on top of this situation.

You can now also set up a separate account for the trust. Since you will at some future date have to provide an accounting for the will (probate) and the trust, having 2 different accounts set up makes it easier to provide the accounting.

You need to get your copies back that you provided to the attorney, even if it means telling that attorney that you will come to his office to help him look for them. Even if the copies are totally lost, it might be possible for you to get replacement copies from the brokerage firm, but that is a little bit inconvenient. Also if this attorney supposedly can not produce the copies, it looks a little bit suspicious, almost as if he had been talking to the dishonest broker and maybe perhaps the broker asked the attorney to sabotage your case by "losing" or "pretending to lose" the documents to make things harder for you to prove your case. If after searching he still maintains he can not find the copies, then you need to seriously consider firing him and getting someone else because this is highly irresponsible behavior. If you are going to bring a lawsuit or file a complaint later on against this broker, or even just to get the estate settled, you are going to need these very important documents.

You also need to be talking directly to General Electric and ING to find out if beneficiary designation forms exist and ask them to send you copies.

DANDY DON IN OKLAHOMA ([email protected])

Thanks Dandy Don. I will let you know what I find out. I am seriously thinking of getting another attorney. I don't know how he can do his work if he can't keep up with his files.