Trustee ripping me off?

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? I'm in WA but the estate is in CO

My father died in 1993 leaving me about $130,000. We hadn't been on speaking terms for years. Ours was a textbook case of dysfunctional family. He left my sister and a family friend in charge of the estate. The family friend bowed out years ago leaving my sister essentially as sole trustee. I think she still needs his signature to write checks but that's the extent of his involvement. He apparently signs a bunch of blank checks at once and she takes it from there. I don't get the money till age 55 which is about 5 more years.

For years now she has been telling me that I have no say in the situation. She's got some high falutin' investment adviser so she refuses to listen to my recommendations which have been spot on. I've been begging her for 2 years to put the money in gold and foreign currencies and she's got it mostly in corporate bonds. When I even try to talk to her about it she gets completely hysterical. She's always been like that so its nothing new. She hasn't worked for years because she's emotionally unstable. I don't know what she's been living on. She's not supposed to get her inheritance for a few years either. She may have insurance money from a husband who killed himself after being married to her for 6 months. That's not a joke.

With the recent shake up in the stock market and her continued refusal to respect my suggestions I finally forced myself to look at the will. I can read past the legalese but I can't choke down the emotions enough to read it. I'm on Social Security disability (ADHD/PTSD about $950 a month) so I can't afford to hire a lawyer at $250 an hour. But with my girl friend's help I was able to find the section that requires annual reports to the beneficiary. I have received NOTHING from her in the last 13 years except a copy of the will. Not so much as a single receipt. I figured the court had oversight. She's been sending me $100 a month (which I haven't been reporting to SS) which she's been acting like its a big favor. A few months ago she said my share of the estate is worth about $250K.

Also there's a clause in the will to the effect that if the inheritance results in my not getting government money (Social Security) then I don't get my inheritance. Is this even legal? Will this prevent me from getting the money?

I desperately need help with this but again on an income of $950 a month I can't afford to get a lawyer. And just to complicate the matter further the estate is based in Denver and I live in Portland.

I sent her a letter yesterday nicely asking that she send me the documents I was supposed to receive all along. How long should I give her to comply and what should my next step be?

I'm thinking that I want to be put on as co-trustee or maybe have her removed. I can't deal with her and now I'm thinking I can't trust her either. Up till now I'd had a lot of faith in her. Would 13 years of failure to provide annual reports be reason enough to have her removed as trustee? Should I have this investigated by the court? Could the court assign a protector? Could I be put on as co-trustee? I'm not sure I even want to deal with her but I want some control over what is supposed to be my money.

How should I proceed? Thanks!

For years now she has been telling me that I have no say in the situation.

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You don't.

She's got some high falutin' investment adviser so she refuses to listen to my recommendations which have been spot on. I've been begging her for 2 years to put the money in gold and foreign currencies and she's got it mostly in corporate bonds

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A trustee has certain fiduciary duties, one of which is to invest the funds under their care prudently. A fiduciary that would speculate in gold and foreign exchange with $250K of someone else's money would be nuts and open themselves to liability. Whether you are "spot on" is not relevant.

If this is a trust, then you are entitled to an accounting.

15-16-303. Duty to inform and account to beneficiaries.
(1) The trustee shall keep the beneficiaries of the trust reasonably informed of the trust and its administration.
(2) Within thirty days after registration, in accordance with the provisions of part 1 of this article, of a trust created on or after July 1, 1975, the trustee shall inform in writing the current beneficiaries and, if possible, one or more persons who, under section 15-10-403, represent beneficiaries with future interests of the court in which the trust is registered and of his name and address.
(3) Upon reasonable request, the trustee shall provide the beneficiary with a copy of the terms of the trust which describe or affect his interest and with relevant information about the assets of the trust and the particulars relating to the administration.
(4) Upon reasonable request, a beneficiary is entitled to a statement of the accounts of the trust annually and on termination of the trust or change of the trustee.

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You aren't going to be able to remove the trustee for not engaging in speculative investments. I doubt that you will be able to remove the trustee simply for not providing the accountings - maybe, maybe not. If you can prove some malfeasance, then you could get the trustee removed. In any event, you won't get anywhere without an attorney's help.

Thank you very much for taking time to respond to my questions. That goes a long way to putting my mind at ease. I disagree about the safety of gold and foreign currency particularly with 100 year old banks shutting their doors. I'd rather be betting against the market right now. Nonetheless I am grateful for your information.

The problem is that she is going to ignore your request like she has done in the past. If you had an attorney to make the request on your behalf, trustee is less likely to ignore it and will take it more seriously. Stop making suggestions about how the money should be invested because she doesn't have to follow them and that is just a waste of time and causes only further aggravation. You may also want to consider asking for copies of the trust tax returns and the current account statement balance in the trust bank account. May even want to consider whether you should request an audit, the cost of which will be deducted from the trust, but at least you will know for sure whether there are financial shenanigans going on with it or not.

You truly need to be discussing your situation with a trust attorney, and it is not going to be as expensive as you think. A one hour or 2 hour consultation is sometimes given free at the beginning or at the very least a few hundred dollars, so shop around until you get fee quotes from about 10 different trust attorneys to find out the one you can afford. If you don't want to talk to an attorney, talk to a CERTIFIED financial planner who is familiar with Social Security rules to set up your assets the way they should be set up to prevent your loss of benefits.

Because you don't want your SS benefits to be discontinued, you need to be inquiring about whether a special needs trust or some other option can be set up for you.