Trust Question

I currently live in Iowa. My Great Aunt had no children and named me, my sister, and my mother as beneficiaries of a sizeable family trust. However, my great uncle currently has sole access to the "marital trust" before it goes to the "family trust". There was no reading of the will however we received copies of the Last Will and Testament but nothing was explained to us not even from my great uncle. Should we have been included in the reading of the will? What rights do we have as eventual beneficiaries of the trust. It states in the will that there is to be an annual statement to all beneficiaries? Are we entitled to a copy of the statement while it is still a marital trust? Here is another twist. He is thinking about getting remarried?

AUG. 25, 2001

DEAR ATHGUY:

The fact that there was no "reading of the will" is not really significant. That is a custom that is mostly done on TV and is not really necessary nowadays, because the thinking is that any beneficiaries can read the will on their own time to see what the will says.

You can use the will as a general guideline to see what you may be entitled to, but you can't count on that as being 100% accurate because the distributions can not be made to the beneficiaries until all estate assets are added up, minus any outstanding estate bills and taxes and funeral expenses are paid off, and if there is anything left over, then the distribution can be made.

Since this is a trust, that is usually an indication that there is a sizable amount of money involved. One of the reasons that trusts are designed is for the privacy of the person who draws it up (financial records are kept confidential and do not have to be listed in the probate file along with the will). The fact that this trustee (the great uncle) sent you all copies of the will shows that he is at least acting in good faith to keep you all informed (for now). It may take anywhere from 1 week to 2 weeks or more for him and his attorneys at the bank (where the trust is held) to handle the estate affairs portion of the trust, just to see approximately what financial condition the trust is in.

He should have at least sent you all a letter or a phone call stating that it will take a little bit of time for the trust affairs to be taken care of. You need to ask him (as politely as possible) exactly or approximately when does he estimate that he will be making payments to the trust beneficiaries, and you should also offer to assist him with the handling of any estate affairs if it is needed. Give him the benefit of the doubt for now, but if he stalls or doesn't want to seem to provide any answers, then you should consider hiring your own attorney to communicate with this uncle to get results. Don't be overly pushy by making too many phone calls to find out what is going on, but don't let too much time pass without at least being informed about what to expect. He may need to ask you all some personal financial information for tax purposes, such as your SSN or date of birth and current mailing address/phone number, etc.

Whether or not you would be entitled to an annual statement while it is still a marital trust may depend on whether or not you were named as beneficiaries in the marital trust. Since an annual statement is usually provided at the end of the year or during the first quarter of the next year (to coincide with tax filings), you may want to wait awhile before asking for this, or go ahead and ask to have them give you some idea of what time of year they plan to provide the statement.

I wouldn't be too concerned about the fact that he is going to be remarried. There are legal guidelines/instructions that he must follow as trustee to make sure the estate is distributed fairly and properly.

CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR GOOD LUCK!

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Thanks for the information. However, I still have a couple of questions or points. It has been over a year since my Great Aunt has passed away and we haven't heard anything. Should we be concerned? The Marital Trust is only for my great uncle to draw off of and to use principal of trust as needed for health, upkeep etc.... After he has passed away the assets go into the family trust which then we would draw off of. So we shouldn't expect financials until it is entered into the Family Trust?? Correct? Once againg thanks for the information. It has been helpful!

AUG. 27, 2001

DEAR ATHGUY:

Yes you should be somewhat concerned. After you examine your great aunt's probate file, there should probably be some mention in it of the name of the family trust and the name of the marital trust. At the very least you should get the name of the estate executor and contact this person my certified mail to ask why you haven't yet received anything from the great aunt's estate and politely ask what bank the trusts are being held at. Do you have some idea of what you are eligible to receive, either from the will or the trust (the exact amount of money?)?

If you don't get any response, then you need to seriously consider getting an attorney to represent you to find out answers to these questions. I don't want to cast aspersions, because things may be perfectly normal, but the fact that the trustee has not contacted you by now seems a little bit odd--if you were beneficiaries of the family trust, then you should know about it.

I am not experienced with trusts, so I don't really know how to answer your questions accurately. You will have to consult with someone who is more experienced in these areas.

SINCERELY,

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