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Issues with Trustee

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css29

Junior Member
What is the name of your state? CA

My mother made my nephew the trustee of her estate. She recently passed away and now I am gettting very little in the way of responses from him. My questions are as follows -

Am I entitled to a copy of the Will, the Trust and any other documentation?
If I am and the trustee fails to comply with my request, what course of action do I have?
 


moburkes

Senior Member
What is the name of your state? CA

My mother made my nephew the trustee of her estate. She recently passed away and now I am gettting very little in the way of responses from him. My questions are as follows -

Am I entitled to a copy of the Will, the Trust and any other documentation?
If I am and the trustee fails to comply with my request, what course of action do I have?
If probate has been opened, the information is available at the county courthouse. You are only entitled to a copy of the will if you are a beneficiary.
 

tecate

Member
8200. (a) Unless a petition for probate of the will is earlier
filed, the custodian of a will shall, within 30 days after having
knowledge of the death of the testator, do both of the following:
(1) Deliver the will to the clerk of the superior court of the
county in which the estate of the decedent may be administered. No
fee shall be charged for compliance with the requirement of this
paragraph.
(2) Mail a copy of the will to the person named in the will as
executor, if the person's whereabouts is known to the custodian, or
if not, to a person named in the will as a beneficiary, if the person'
s whereabouts is known to the custodian.
(b) A custodian of a will who fails to comply with the
requirements of this section is liable for all damages sustained by
any person injured by the failure.
(c) The clerk shall release a copy of a will delivered under this
section for attachment to a petition for probate of the will or
otherwise on receipt of payment of the required fee and either a
court order for production of the will or a certified copy of a death
certificate of the decedent.


16061.7. (a) A trustee shall serve a notification by the trustee as
described in this section in the following events:
(1) When a revocable trust or any portion thereof becomes
irrevocable because of the death of one or more of the settlors of
the trust, or because, by the express terms of the trust, the trust
becomes irrevocable within one year of the death of a settlor because
of a contingency related to the death of one or more of the settlors
of the trust.
(2) Whenever there is a change of trustee of an irrevocable trust.
The duty to serve the notification by the trustee is the duty of
the continuing or successor trustee, and any one cotrustee may serve
the notification.
(b) The notification by the trustee required by subdivision (a)
shall be served on each of the following:
(1) Each beneficiary of the irrevocable trust or irrevocable
portion of the trust, subject to the limitations of Section 15804.
(2) Each heir of the deceased settlor, if the event that requires
notification is the death of a settlor or irrevocability within one
year of the death of the settlor of the trust by the express terms of
the trust because of a contingency related to the death of a
settlor.
(3) If the trust is a charitable trust subject to the supervision
of the Attorney General, to the Attorney General.
(c) A trustee shall, for purposes of this section, rely upon any
final judicial determination of heirship, known to the trustee, but
the trustee shall have discretion to make a good faith determination
by any reasonable means of the heirs of a deceased settlor in the
absence of a final judicial determination of heirship known to the
trustee.
(d) The trustee need not provide a copy of the notification by
trustee to any beneficiary or heir (1) known to the trustee but who
cannot be located by the trustee after reasonable diligence or (2)
unknown to the trustee.
(e) The notification by trustee shall be served by mail to the
last known address, pursuant to Section 1215, or by personal
delivery.
(f) The notification by trustee shall be served not later than 60
days following the occurrence of the event requiring service of the
notification by trustee, or 60 days after the trustee became aware
of the existence of a person entitled to receive notification by
trustee, if that person was not known to the trustee on the
occurrence of the event requiring service of the notification. If
there is a vacancy in the office of the trustee on the date of the
occurrence of the event requiring service of the notification by
trustee, or if that event causes a vacancy, then the 60-day period
for service of the notification by trustee commences on the date the
new trustee commences to serve as trustee.
(g) The notification by trustee shall contain the following
information:
(1) The identity of the settlor or settlors of the trust and the
date of execution of the trust instrument.
(2) The name, mailing address and telephone number of each trustee
of the trust.
(3) The address of the physical location where the principal place
of administration of the trust is located, pursuant to Section
17002.
(4) Any additional information that may be expressly required by
the terms of the trust instrument.
(5) A notification that the recipient is entitled, upon reasonable
request to the trustee, to receive from the trustee a true and
complete copy of the terms of the trust.
(h) If the notification by the trustee is served because a
revocable trust or any portion of it has become irrevocable because
of the death of one or more settlors of the trust, or because, by the
express terms of the trust, the trust becomes irrevocable within one
year of the death of a settlor because of a contingency related to
the death of one or more of the settlors of the trust, the
notification by the trustee shall also include a warning, set out in
a separate paragraph in not less than 10-point boldface type, or a
reasonable equivalent thereof, that states as follows:
"You may not bring an action to contest the trust more than 120
days from the date this notification by the trustee is served upon
you or 60 days from the date on which a copy of the terms of the
trust is mailed or personally delivered to you during that 120-day
period, whichever is later."
(i) Any waiver by a settlor of the requirement of serving the
notification by trustee required by this section is against public
policy and shall be void.
(j) A trustee may serve a notification by trustee in the form
required by this section on any person in addition to those on whom
the notification by trustee is required to be served. A trustee is
not liable to any person for serving or for not serving the notice on
any person in addition to those on whom the notice is required to be
served. A trustee is not required to serve a notification by
trustee if the event that otherwise requires service of the
notification by trustee occurs before January 1, 1998.

16061.9. (a) A trustee who fails to serve the notification by
trustee as required by Section 16061.7 on a beneficiary shall be
responsible for all damages, attorney's fees, and costs caused by the
failure unless the trustee makes a reasonably diligent effort to
comply with that section.
(b) A trustee who fails to serve the notification by trustee as
required by Section 16061.7 on an heir who is not a beneficiary and
whose identity is known to the trustee shall be responsible for all
damages caused to the heir by the failure unless the trustee shows
that the trustee made a reasonably diligent effort to comply with
that section. For purposes of this subdivision, "reasonably
diligent effort" means that the trustee has sent notice by
first-class mail to the heir at the heir's last mailing address
actually known to the trustee.
(c) A trustee, in exercising discretion with respect to the timing
and nature of distributions of trust assets, may consider the fact
that the period in which a beneficiary or heir could bring an action
to contest the trust has not expired.
 

Dandy Don

Senior Member
Did you have a good relationship with your mother or is it possible that you could be disinherited?

If she put all her assets in the trust, there may not be a will, but you can check at the county courthouse to be sure.

It is possible that he may be busy managing the affars of the trust and does not want to give out any answers about how much beneficiaries may be receiving if he hasn't figured out the tax liability or claimed all trust assets, but you (or your attorney) should send him a certified letter with return receipt, asking for a copy of the trust. If you are named as a beneficiary, he should have no qualms about responding to a legitimate request.

DANDY DON IN OKLAHOMA ([email protected])
 

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