What is included in remainder of estate?

My aunt passed away. The main beneficiary is her partner who is also the trustee. In the trust her partner inherits all of her stocks, bonds, securities, time shares, as well as any personal property not specifically bequeathed to others. Her trust also mentions that I am to inherit the remainder of her trust after her house is sold and all other expenses are paid (lawyer fees, taxes, etc). Her house was deeded to her trust but everything else must go through probate. I do know that my aunt had some CD's in sizeable amounts and I am wondering if those are included in the "remainder of the trust" or if those are considered "stocks, bonds, and securities"? Also, is there any way to find out exactly what my aunt left in assets aside from asking her partner? I am completely in the dark about my inheritance and feel that I have no say in how her trust is being handled. Thanks, the state is California.

The CD's would NOT be included as part of the trust unless they were specifically titled in the name of the trust, which they probably weren't. Check at the county courthouse to see if perhaps she had a will that was probated (she probably didn't, but it doesn't hurt to check just be certain); most likely all assets were put into the trust. IF you do not already have a copy of the trust, you can request a copy of the trust and an annual accounting statement (for each year the trust has existed) by sending the trustee a certified letter requesting such (if I were you I would hire a trust attorney to write the letter to the trustee on your behalf, since the trustee will be less likely to ignore the letter completely if it came from an attorney). You have no say as to how the trust is "handled"; hopefully the trustee will do the right thing and manage it correctly.

Thank you so much for your answer. I have the copy of the trust as well as my aunt's will. My aunt gave full power to her partner as trustee. The only thing that was deeded into the trust was her house, nothing else. It's confusing because her will only gives power to her partner, there is no mention of who gets what. But her trust is clear that her partner inherits all stocks, bonds and securities and we get the remainder of the trust. But if only her house was deeded, then who gets her CD's if they are not specifically mentioned?

The CD's go into the probated estate of the will if there are no designated beneficiaries. The bank will only release the information about that to the executor. It is highly unlikely that your aunt would not have designated beneficiaries for the CD, although it does happen sometimes.

Is there a possibility that the will is what is known as a "pour-over will?" That is, that it directs that any assets that are not already part of the trust be distributed to the Trustee of her trust.

If that isn't the case, the Trustee may end up filing what is called a Heggstad Petition that, in very simple terms, asks the court for permission to treat assets as if the assets were part of the trust, assuming that the petitioner can satisfy the court that the trustor intended for the assets to be part of the trust.

While I think it likely there is a pourover will, there are no facts here to indicate any possibility of a successful Heggstad petition.

tranquility said:

While I think it likely there is a pourover will, there are no facts here to indicate any possibility of a successful Heggstad petition.

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Not even the mention in the trust of the partner receiving "...all stocks, bonds and securities?"

(That's what a non-Californian gets for even raising the possibility of Heggstad petition!)

I agree it's more a practical than a theoretical answer. We can certainly set up an argument there is a factual issue regarding the deceased intent, it's just the courts don't seem to be granting many unless it gets to be a lot more certain of intent and action like when a property is removed from the trust for refinancing and the owner, through clear and convincing evidence, meant to retitle it to the trust but was prevented for some reason.

My aunt's will says this at the beginning:

"I give the residue of my estate to the then acting Trustee under that trust designated as (aunt's name) Trust of which I am the Grantor and Trustee, executed the same date as this Will, to be added to, administered and distributed as a part of that Trust, according to the terms of that Trust on the date of my death."

So am I to assume that this is a pour over will?

Beachy said:

My aunt's will says this at the beginning:
So am I to assume that this is a pour over will?

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Yes.

As to your question about the CD's... I would tend to view them as not being included in the definition of "securities." I would view them as being in the same category as checking accounts, savings accounts, etc. Maybe someone more familiar with California will chip in to clarify if California law is more specific.

It appears that it may a bit early in the process to begin bugging the trustee. But, as a beneficiary of the trust, you are entitled to information concerning the trust. For example:

16061. Except as provided in Section 16064, on reasonable request
by a beneficiary, the trustee shall provide the beneficiary with a
report of information about the assets, liabilities, receipts, and
disbursements of the trust, the acts of the trustee, and the
particulars relating to the administration of the trust relevant to
the beneficiary's interest, including the terms of the trust.

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If you want to do the deep dive, the CA Probate Code is at this link. Trust law begins at Section 15000.

http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/calawquery?codesection=prob&codebody=&hits=20

Thank you again for your response. I am not going to bother my aunt's partner as the Trustee has full power to deal with my aunt's estate and it would do no good for me to inquire about things at this point. I just wanted to know what would constitute "remainder of estate" since I had no idea what to expect as my final inheritance. My aunt's partner did tell me that I was to inherit "a lot of money" but that can be relative too.

While it depends on what "a lot of money" is, but, if it is, the transfer of accounts and winding up of a large estate can be difficult and complex. Especially if you ever feel the trustee or executor is not acting up to the legal requirements of the position, you need an attorney to get most problems resolved.

At the same time, a little truism of such situations is that one should not get in the way of a person and free money. Families and friendships can be ruined through litigation and a false sense of entitlement during the process of distribution.

Finally, you don't really have any control or a "vote" over how the trust and the estate are handled. That's one of the features of the probate and trust theory of wealth transfer. We have a fictional legal "owner" of the property in the trustee with a beneficial owner according to the terms of the trust. And, we have a person pronounced by the court to administer the estate who has the power to act according to the will and statutory guidelines. The trustee does not need anyone's permission to act in the name of the trust. The executor must report his actions to the court and the court may place additional orders on what and how he may act. It sounds you will have both.