My girlfriends mother died of breast cancer

What is the name of your state? CA

My girlfriends mother just passed away 2 years ago of breast cancer. When she signed the will or trust documentation she was very sick.

It was said by her to her daughter and son that they get half of the house, the other half going to the husband(not her childrens father).

My girlfriend and I just recently moved, she moved out of the house that she is supposed to have 25% of in the trust, with her brother having 25% and the step-father having 50%.

The trust is in their stepfathers last name and he is the executor.

My girlfriend and her stepfather never had a good relationship, stemming from many things but it heated up most when she and he disagreed about how to treat her mom in her last day alive.

Since she moved out, and the disagreements about the small things that my grilfriend wanted of her moms(little intrinsic value) the stepfather has gotten bold and is telling my girlfriends aunt(her moms sister) and and her brother that "she(my girlfriend) isn't going to get anything because i'm going to redo the will".

Is there anything we could and should do being that shes threatened by this?

She has mentioned that there's a possibilty that if he gets remarried the ownership of the house disappears or changes.

I'd like to help her protect her interests in something her mother intended on her having. We are not interested in getting nasty, just want to protect her interests.

Is there anything we can do? It's our understanding that the attorney who did the trust is the stepfathers friend or has done work for eachother for a long time.

Can we get a copy of the will or trust? How would we do that? Thank you so very much for any pointers.

Check at the county courthouse probate court to see if the will has been filed yet (normally that is done within 30-60 days after the death). If it has been filed you can request a copy of it. If it hasn't been, you will just have to be patient. You will eventually be notified about the probate proceedings.

Your girlfriend can send the trustee a certified letter asking for a copy of the trust.

The trust and the will are 2 separate documents and are administered separately--the trust will not be handled in court and will be done privately, and the will of course will be probated in court. If she is receiving anything from the trust the trustee will be in contact with her.

Thanks for the response.

How would she obtain a copy of the will? Call which county office?

The problem is, the trustee or the executor is her stepfather who is the one who said "I'm goign to make sure she doesn't get anything".

Is he required to send her a copy of the trust?

Thanks for the information.

I believe that under California law, all the benficiaries of a trust are entitled to receive a copy of the trust and an annual accounting. However, if stepfather ignores the request, the recourse is to head to court.

She will want to check at the county courthouse in the county that her mother resided in - the probate court You can do a search - most counties have websites. Some will even enable you to seach for probate cases. However, if stepfather never submitted the will for probate, she won't find a probate case.

She may also want to get to whatever county department in California handles land records. Find the latest deed for the property to see exactly how it is titled right now.

Thanks.

The property is deeded under '<his last name> Trust' - and he has been seeing a girl that we're guessing he filed a marriage license with because she is on the trust now. We did a search and saw her name as part of '<last name> Trust'.

Assuming he is buddy buddy with his attorney friend - can that attorney change the trust for him and remove my girlfriend and her brother? Because that is what he is threatening - that he's going to make sure she gets nothing.

Dandy Don,
You said, "and the will of course will be probated in court". Would the Will be probated in court if all of the assets were properly in the Trust? I thought that was the advantage to having the trust? If anyone can shed light on this, I would appreciate it.

curb1 said:

Dandy Don,
You said, "and the will of course will be probated in court". Would the Will be probated in court if all of the assets were properly in the Trust? I thought that was the advantage to having the trust? If anyone can shed light on this, I would appreciate it.

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GENERALLY speaking, all the assets are disposed of under a trust.

However, a careful estate attorney will also draw up a will with the same provisions as the trust so that if there is something they forgot to put in the trust, the same people will get the stuff.

Stepfather is just being mean--he can NOT legally "re-do" anyone's will or trust and he must enforce the distributions of the wil and/or trust exactly as they are now. Just try not to aggravate him any further although I realize that will be hard to do. Just be patient and she will eventually receive whatever she was left with in the trust--it takes a few weeks to sort out all of the details.

DANDY DON IN OKLAHOMA ([email protected])

Well the thing is - the trust is in his name. If his last name is Smith, this is called Smith Family Trust.

Her mother died 2 years ago.. she wasn't left anything other than 25% of the house - however before her mother died she said that ''I took care of you guys, but I'm not sure what happens if he gets remarried". He has since gotten remarried apparently, as this new lady he's dating is on the trust.

She isn't expecting on getting anything until he passes away or the house is sold.

Is there anything in a standard trust that allows for the new wife to take away the childrens share?

SeniorJudge,

You said, "However, a careful estate attorney will also draw up a will with the same provisions as the trust so that if there is something they forgot to put in the trust, the same people will get the stuff."

Yes, that is the function of the "pourover" will. But, does the will have to be presented for probate? I thought probate was bypassed with the revocable trust and will.

curb1, you are right. Probate is a pain here; that is why living trusts are so popular. I understand that in other states, probate is relatively easy, but not here.

To the OP, if your friend is a beneficiary of the trust, she is sitting on her rights. Two years is a long time to do nothing. She should hire professional help at once to get a copy of the trust and chart a course of action.

Mention the city he died in and I can look up the county courthouse probate information for you and post it here, or you can call any local librarian or city hall and they can help you find this. You can do an online search for that county and a website will come up where you can do the search online yourself. Yes, if all assets were put into the trust there will be nothing filed in probate regarding the will because there may be no need to file it.

Stop worrying about what the trust says--he probably did revise it to include his wife, which was the proper thing to do, and start writing your letter requesting the copy of the trust or have your attorney write it on your behalf so the trustee will be less likely to ignore it.

DANDY DON IN OKLAHOMA ([email protected])

DandyDon,
Thank you. A follow up, if all of the assets are in the Trust, in most states, does the probate court even need to be contacted? Or, is it completely bypassed with the Trust?
Thank you.

Stop worrying about what the trust says--he probably did revise it to include his wife, which was the proper thing to do,

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Thanks. Does my GF the daughter still get her 25% or does that change? If he adds his wife does she get his 50% or does it change the whole thing? Thanks.

I'm guessing that she still gets 25%, but when he dies then his wife is the executor then instead of my GF.