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Inheritance from Trust-Missouri

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phaedo

Junior Member
What is the name of your state? Missouri (where trust was set up, residence of deceased). Illinois (where I live).

I stand to inherit a sum of money, but am estranged (as many seem to be) from the family member who is trustee of my relative's estate. He has implied that he will exercise his "discretion" to retain control of my inheritance for my own good. He is a lawyer and cunning, but, sadly, not trustworthy.

Firstly, can I hire a lawyer here in Illinois to represent my interests, even though the trust/will was written in Missouri? Secondly, is there any way a trustee can retain control of my inheritance? Thirdly, is it true that I have to appear in person to receive my inheritance?
 


Dandy Don

Senior Member
Have you been given a copy of the trust yet? There should be language in the trust to specify the allowable, permissible uses for the money, and the trustee must follow those guidelines strictly and implicitly.

It would be better for you to retain a trust attorney in the same city/county where the trust was written/decedent lived as he would be more familiar with that state's trust law.

What indications do you have that he is not trustworthy?

Are there other beneficiaries of this trust besides you?

You can discuss with your attorney the options you will have in the future if the trustee seems reluctant to release the funds for approved purposes. You can perhaps ask that a trustee's bond be posted by the trustee (even if the will exempts that requirement), have a criminal background check done on the attorney to see if there would be reason to have him removed/replaced as trustee.

It is doubtful that you would have to appear in person to receive your funds, since that could be done by mailing you a check by certified mail or transferring the funds to you by wire transfer to your bank account. But it might be a good idea, if you have never met this attorney before, to meet with him in person once just to get an idea of his personality and demeanor and see how he would react to you and to get your questions answered.

DANDY DON IN OKLAHOMA
 

phaedo

Junior Member
Trust issues, Inheritance vis a vis student loan debt

Thanks for your reply! One reason why I doubt the trustee's trustworthiness (no pun intended) is the following.

The trustee was previously trustee to another trust account/fund set up to pay for our college education. Unbeknownst to us, the trust had been written in such a way that if any of us children reached a certain age and there was money remaining that had not been used to pay tuition and related expenses, it would be transferred to us (my brother or me). When my brother reached the predetermined age, there was a substantial amount remaining in his trust. This trustee knew full well how to contact my brother, who lived three miles from his office, but satisfied his legal obligation to notify my brother of this fact by publishing one of those legal notices in the local newspaper. Not surprisingly, my brother failed to notice this. Etc., etc.

Any ideas how to protect an inheritance from going entirely toward student loan debt? I'd like to pay off half of it (for example) and retain some of the money. Is this do-able? Any idea what the options might be?
 

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