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Executor took funds into her account over a year ago

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nhocstrasser

Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Massachusetts

Hello.

My father died in May of 2008. My father's will states that I was to receive 75% of his retirement savings.

Around May of 2009 I was told that my step mother (the executrix of his estate) took these funds into her account in order to avoid paying taxes on the funds when they were distributed to me. (She would gift the money to me)

It took another year to get her to visit the attorney again and it has been a month since of me trying to get her to see her accountant in order to get the funds.

What happens if she says that the funds lost value in the year-plus that she held them?

I feel like she has been hiding things from me and I don't feel that she has been honest. The will has been put into probate. I don't know the exact process involved, but the estate attorney seemed to imply that a summary of assets was never filed with the court.

Also, is there a statute of limitations on these matters? Quick googling indicates that the sol for fraud is 3 years for Massachusets. Is there any time limit to my legally objecting to her having taken the money?

It is possible that she took it the funds up to 2 years ago.

:mad:
 


anteater

Senior Member
It's difficult to know exactly what is going on here.

Can you better clarify what you mean by "retirement savings?" Usually, people will use that term to refer to tax-deferred accounts such as 401K's, IRA's, annuities, etc. Usually, but not always, such accounts have named beneficiaries and are not part of the probate estate, and, therefore, not subject to the provisions of a will.

But, sometimes, people designate their estate as the beneficiary or fail to name a beneficiary. If that was the case here, then the fund should be part of the probate estate and stepmother should not be taking "these funds into her account..."

I can see three possibilities:

1) Your stepmother is an idiot and taking advice from the mole people in the basement. (And may well have caused a real tax problem.)

2) She is jerking you around.

3) She was actually named the beneficiary on the accounts or otherwise had a valid claim to them. But she is attempting to comply voluntarily with the wishes expressed in your father's will by gifting you some of the funds.

Since you say that probate has been opened, take a trip to the court and get a copy of everything in the case file. Then it's your decision. You could ask stepmother to explain the situation clearly. Or request consultations with a couple attorneys experienced in probate/estate matters.
 
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Dandy Don

Senior Member
If you know the exact source where the retirement funds were held, check with the company holding the funds to get more information about how they were handled. The funds probably had a designated beneficiary (and your father may have forgotten about that when he wrote his will) and if a beneficiary was designated, then that designation overrides what is in the will and the money must therefore be paid to the beneficiary, no matter what the will says. IF there was no beneficiary designated, then the stepmother may have acquired the monies improperly unless there was a stipulation or technicality that allowed her to claim them. It looks like she is not being directly honest with you because she is afraid you will be angry or disappointed when you find out the bad news. Send the executor of the estate a certified letter about this to see how the executor responds.
 

nhocstrasser

Junior Member
My father worked for the US postal service. The retirement account was a FERS (federal employee retirement savings) account. There was no beneficiary specified for the account and in cases like that the funds are released to the spouse. My step mother and my father married in the hospital about 10 days before he died so she was able to receive the funds.

I am not an expert in such matters, but I believe that I may not have any claim to the money. I am just going by what I am told.

We went to the lawyer's office about a month ago and reviewed most of the contents of the estate. The lawyer (who was my father's lawyer and appears to be working for the estate currently) said that those funds were to go to me as that is what the will stated.

I don't know what she intends to do, but the length of this process is making me very uncomfortable. I only know what I am told and I only learned what the will specified me to receive a months ago (approximately 2 years after my father died).
 

nhocstrasser

Junior Member
I went to the court house in Boston and got a copy of his folder last summer after she told me that she took monies into her account. All that the folder contained was a copy of the will, the marriage certificate and a few other documents that did not strike me as being of any importance. There was no summary of assets in the file. That was a year ago, but I got the impression when we met with the attorney a month ago that no summary had ever been filed.

I really don't want to fight her, but at the same time I don't want to be screwed over. At no point in this process has the entire estate been accounted for to my satisfaction. When I ask what is going on I am told a litany of excuses as to why nothing is happening. I have tried to ask her what is going on, but all I feel I receive is half truths.
 

anteater

Senior Member
I don't know what to tell you. It appears to me that you have to depend upon the goodwill of your stepmother.

My admittedly non-extensive knowledge of the Thrift Savings Plan (which I assume is what we are talking about) is that, if there is no named beneficiary, the proceeds go to the spouse, if there is one - outside of probate.

The lawyer (who was my father's lawyer and appears to be working for the estate currently) said that those funds were to go to me as that is what the will stated.
I would have to wonder if this lawyer knows what he/she is talking about. Or, to be more charitable, if there was some confusion about the assets being discussed.

Other than the plan, did your father have much in the way of assets?

Was the marriage your father's idea? Was he competent? I'm slinging things against the wall here to see if anything sticks in case stepmother skunks you.
 
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Dandy Don

Senior Member
The matter is over and done with and regrettably there is nothing else you can do. The lawyer who told you the money was yours was incorrect--since there was a named beneficiary the money always goes to the beneficiary no matter what the will says.
 

nhocstrasser

Junior Member
The only other thing of interest that the will states is that if someone contests the will that they would be cut out. If she doesn't do what the will asks does that legally qualify as "contesting" it?

Other than the funds in question there is a house involved. I was specified as receiving 49% of it and she gets 51%. If she isn't going to do what the will specifies then can I use that clause as any sort of leverage for the other assets in question (ie the house)?
 

anteater

Senior Member
No, if your stepmother is the executor, it is not contesting the will if she goes off the reservation and does not carry out the will's provisions. It is a breach of her duties as executor. And that would be your line of attack in such a situation.

I don't know the state of the law in MA in particular, but, in almost all states, the courts are hesitant about invoking the penalties associated with "no will contest" provisions. If the grounds for contesting are really, really frivolous and/or baseless, maybe. But, generally, if there is any reasonable basis for a contest, the court won't allow a disinheritance clause to be invoked, even if the contest is unsuccessful.
 

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