Disbursements of funds

What is the name of your state? Oregon

My uncle recently passed away and my father is in charge of the will/estate. My uncle had a trust fund made in Washington in 2004. In 2006 he moved in with my father in oregon, my father took care of him until he passed away last week.

My fathers family is pushing him to take care of the will, which he has just started looking at (the funeral was March 19, the sisters started asking for the money after the funeral was over, what a family!) the will. He is making an appt with an attorney, there is a lot of money in his bank acct. Can he make a payment of $10,000 to each sister to get them off his back while he is working on all the details? All the assets are to be equally divided.

If he can does he need any information like ss# or anything for taxes?

ThanksWhat is the name of your state?

1) Did your uncle have any known debts?
2) What kind of trust?
3) Who is Trustee of trust?
4) How were the bank accounts titled?
5) How much money in bank accounts?
6) Were the accounts all of Uncle's assets?

Q: Can he make a payment of $10,000 to each sister to get them off his back while he is working on all the details?

A: Do not do anything till pa has a lawyer.

You ask, "Can he make a payment of $10,000 to each sister to get them off his back while he is working on all the details? "

There is a good chance that there might not be any reason not to distribute $10,000 (or more) to each. If holding the funds serves no purpose, the funds should be distributed as soon as possible.

But, as seniorjudge said, distribute after the appointment with the attorney.

curb1 said:

You ask, "Can he make a payment of $10,000 to each sister to get them off his back while he is working on all the details? "

There is a good chance that there might not be any reason not to distribute $10,000 (or more) to each. If holding the funds serves no purpose, the funds should be distributed as soon as possible.

But, as seniorjudge said, distribute after the appointment with the attorney.

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But a good reason might be that he has no authority yet to distribute any assets.

1) Did your uncle have any known debts?
2) What kind of trust?
3) Who is Trustee of trust?
4) How were the bank accounts titled?
5) How much money in bank accounts?
6) Were the accounts all of Uncle's assets?

ANSWERS:
1-No known debts, might be some lingering Doctor/funeral bills
2-Revokable Living Trust
3-My uncle was the trustee then in case he became incapable my dad listed next
4-The bank accts were in my uncle's name, when he moved in with my dad they set up a new acct with his and my dad's name on it.
5-About $100,000
6-Sorry, not sure what you were asking.

It is about 2 weeks before he can see the lawyer, he was thinking of sending a letter letting them know that he is working on getting everything in order and will get back to them ASAP. Since they started asking the day of the funeral about the money, annuities, properties, he is figuring they will not want to wait the 2 weeks before they get something. He was thinking that some kind of money might stop the harrassing phone calls/comments until he can get a hold on everything that is involved but also doesn't want to do anything that is against the law. He is figuring each person will eventually end up with about $300,000 so the amount of $10,000 shouldn't be too much for starts. He (nor I) know the law and didn't know if he did do something like this does he have to report it to the IRS or anyone because of death taxes etc....

Thank you for all your help!

Tell the sisters to wait! There is absolutely no reason that they can't wait two weeks.

It is important to find out what kind of a bank account. Was it a "pay on death" account with your dad on the account? Or, was the account titled in the name of the Trust? Were all of the assets titled properly in the name of the Trust? This is important. The Trust is not worth much if the assets were not put into the Trust. That could delay any disbursements.

6) "Were the accounts all of Uncle's assets?" I was just asking if all of his assets were in cash, or property etc. You answered the question.

Your situation should be pretty simple if the siblings can stick together. It is important to keep very good documents on everything. I would tell the siblings that this can happen quickly (if assets were actually placed within the Trust) if everyone cooperative.

curb1 said:

...
Tell the sisters to wait! There is absolutely no reason that they can't wait two weeks.
...

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Yeah...tell the vultures to quit circling. It's not polite to circle till the body's good and cold.

It is unlikely anyone has the power to do anything at this time. (Depending on how the account is titled.) Probate needs to be opened.

Tranquility,
If everything was appropriately titled inside the trust, wouldn't probate be totally bypassed?

I saw the term will in the first post but when I reread I see the phrase trust fund, so your point is well taken. I wouldn't say totally bypassed because, while formal probate would not occur, it's always better to wait awhile for creditors or whatnot to occur before the trust is distributed. Also, the beneficiaries need to be notified, copies of the trust distributed and other formalities on death, so a trustee is wise to wait the statutory period to object before making any distributions. (I don't know Oregon law, so can't quote the specific requirements.)

4-The bank accts were in my uncle's name, when he moved in with my dad they set up a new acct with his and my dad's name on it.
5-About $100,000

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Sounds like the bank accounts may not have been titled in the trust's name. Depending upon what "...his and my dad's name on it" means, Dad may be the owner right now.

OP - As others here have said, your Dad is best served by firmly telling the siblings to back off. Give in now and he gets on the slippery slope. A month from now, they will be kvetching about another distribution.

Squibblings can be a real pain in the asset.

curb1 said:

You ask, "Can he make a payment of $10,000 to each sister to get them off his back while he is working on all the details? "

There is a good chance that there might not be any reason not to distribute $10,000 (or more) to each. If holding the funds serves no purpose, the funds should be distributed as soon as possible.

Click to expand...

If nobody has filed probate, then it is very likely that all creditors have not been established, nor given sufficient opportunity to notify the estate of their claim. That is a very good reason. Another is that taxes owed may not have been established or filed. The estate must FIRST take care of it's financial responsibilities before it can be known what remains.

nextwife,
Again, would there be a reason to "file for probate" since he had a revocable trust?