What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? CA
I am 1 of 2 beneficiaries to my mother's trust. My sister is also a beneficiary and a trustee. My cousin is also a trustee. The trust is simple consisting of only an annuity and a paid off condo. The trust says I can stay in the condo as long as I pay the expenses. My mother passed in June 2012. My sister and I are to get a 50/50 split of what is left from the annuity. Even though the trust says distribution must be made no later than 6 months, I have yet to receive full distribution. My cousin paid herself $2K in 2/13(coincidentally her husband had been out of work for 6 months) and the trustees have taken care of what was laid out for my sister. But they have tried to extort me into signing a release of liability for a 12/12 financial statement that contained errors in my sister's favor saying that they would delay distribution if I didn't sign. They also threatened to hold back a large sum in case i filed a lawsuit against them. After 2 attorney letters and a atty meeting, my sister suddenly falsely claimed I had trashed the condo and they would hold back a large amount for repairs. She also falsely claimed that I had refused an appraiser(no one ever contacted me about an appraiser). They took no photos during an inspection to prove their claim and my atty took photos to disprove the claim. The trustees also failed to get a trustee bond as required in the trust and never answered how they determined the value of the condo. Finally, in 8/13 they gave me a partial distribution of about 25%. To this day, I have not received any more distribution and I fear they are draining the trust.
Can I make a motion for removal of the trustees? If so, can they use trust money for their attorney fees which in effect means I am paying for their defense and my attorney. There is only about $35K left for my distribution which would likely be eaten up by attorney's fees, especially if they drag out the proceedings. Can a judge award me my attorney fees since they have failed to perform their fiduciary duty towards me? My sister received a large sum of money outside of the trust so this trust money is chump change to her.
I am 1 of 2 beneficiaries to my mother's trust. My sister is also a beneficiary and a trustee. My cousin is also a trustee. The trust is simple consisting of only an annuity and a paid off condo. The trust says I can stay in the condo as long as I pay the expenses. My mother passed in June 2012. My sister and I are to get a 50/50 split of what is left from the annuity. Even though the trust says distribution must be made no later than 6 months, I have yet to receive full distribution. My cousin paid herself $2K in 2/13(coincidentally her husband had been out of work for 6 months) and the trustees have taken care of what was laid out for my sister. But they have tried to extort me into signing a release of liability for a 12/12 financial statement that contained errors in my sister's favor saying that they would delay distribution if I didn't sign. They also threatened to hold back a large sum in case i filed a lawsuit against them. After 2 attorney letters and a atty meeting, my sister suddenly falsely claimed I had trashed the condo and they would hold back a large amount for repairs. She also falsely claimed that I had refused an appraiser(no one ever contacted me about an appraiser). They took no photos during an inspection to prove their claim and my atty took photos to disprove the claim. The trustees also failed to get a trustee bond as required in the trust and never answered how they determined the value of the condo. Finally, in 8/13 they gave me a partial distribution of about 25%. To this day, I have not received any more distribution and I fear they are draining the trust.
Can I make a motion for removal of the trustees? If so, can they use trust money for their attorney fees which in effect means I am paying for their defense and my attorney. There is only about $35K left for my distribution which would likely be eaten up by attorney's fees, especially if they drag out the proceedings. Can a judge award me my attorney fees since they have failed to perform their fiduciary duty towards me? My sister received a large sum of money outside of the trust so this trust money is chump change to her.