CA Trust is now Irrevocable

[Mackmc]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? CA

I have what I hope is a very quick, non-complicated question. LOL

My father recently passed and the trust before irrevocable, and my younger brother is now the trustee. He, along with my older brother and myself are the only beneficiaries to the trust assets. Due to a complete breakdown of our dysfunctional family, there is no communication happening between the three of us. Younger brother, trustee, has retained a legal firm for representation in closing out and dissolving the trust.

My question, my younger brother, the trustee, has starting giving away and disposing of assets of the trust. Items such as household goods, electronic equipment, tools, etc. Is he allowed to do that without asking or informing the other beneficiaries first? There are some items that are specifically listed (as attachments to the trust) as to their distribution. The majority of items do not have a clear "destination".

(The trust was set up as a pretty standard trust with nothing unusual as far as I can tell.)

Thank you in advance.

 

[Dandy Don]

"and the trust before irrevocable" does not make sense--perhaps you want to correct the grammatical error there to say what you really meant to say.

You need to retain the services of your own trust attorney immediately. What brother is doing is improper and illegal, and he probably doesn't much care. He could be sued for breach of fiduciary duty. Your attorney can immediately send him notice to stop doing what he is doing or else face legal charges. Attorney may also want to mention in the letter to ask trustee "Do you want to serve as trustee or would you prefer that someone else do it?".

 

[Mackmc]

"and the trust before irrevocable" does not make sense--perhaps you want to correct the grammatical error there to say what you really meant to say.

Help me understand the correct terminology, please. Please correct...my understanding is that upon the death of the trustee (in this case, my father), the revocable trust then becomes irrevocable and the successor trustee (my brother) administers the dissolution of the trust and the distribution of assets. EDIT- Oops, I just noticed my mistake. I meant "became"!

Also, having now read the trust, the assets that I know exist, that is, CDs, bank accounts, real estate, etc. are not listed anywhere in the document I received. Is there a reason why those particular assets would not be listed? I received the copy from an attorney so I believe I received all pages and attachments. Also, I know for a fact that those assets were part of the trust as the stocks had to be revalued at the time of my mother's death which occurred prior to my father.

Would there also be a will which determines the distribution of these items? From a logical standpoint, what am I missing?

Thank you for the information regarding the household property. I felt he was in breach of fiduciary responsibilities with his actions but was unsure. The attorney handling the closure of the trust has received a list of items that I was to receive and I believe my brother has likely disposed of most of them. Being that this attorney represents my brother as the trustee, I would need to retain someone else to address the missing assets, correct?

 

[Zigner]

Help me understand the correct terminology, please. Please correct...my understanding is that upon the death of the trustee (in this case, my father), the revocable trust then becomes irrevocable and the successor trustee (my brother) administers the dissolution of the trust and the distribution of assets. EDIT- Oops, I just noticed my mistake. I meant "became"!

Also, having now read the trust, the assets that I know exist, that is, CDs, bank accounts, real estate, etc. are not listed anywhere in the document I received. Is there a reason why those particular assets would not be listed? I received the copy from an attorney so I believe I received all pages and attachments. Also, I know for a fact that those assets were part of the trust as the stocks had to be revalued at the time of my mother's death which occurred prior to my father.

Would there also be a will which determines the distribution of these items? From a logical standpoint, what am I missing?

Thank you for the information regarding the household property. I felt he was in breach of fiduciary responsibilities with his actions but was unsure. The attorney handling the closure of the trust has received a list of items that I was to receive and I believe my brother has likely disposed of most of them. Being that this attorney represents my brother as the trustee, I would need to retain someone else to address the missing assets, correct?

It's starting to sound to me like brother may be following the letter of the law with regard to the various assets. You will definitely want to consult with your own attorney.

 

[Mackmc]

It's starting to sound to me like brother may be following the letter of the law with regard to the various assets. You will definitely want to consult with your own attorney.

I know I must be dense today. I'm not understanding how he can dispose of items without informing the other beneficiaries (my other brother and myself) or giving either of us access to the home to retrieve such assets. Does he have the right to just get rid of everything because he is the trustee?

And, in what type of document would the distribution of the financial assets be covered? I don't have anything regarding them.

 

[Dandy Don]

Did you mean to say "and the trust BECAME irrevocable"? He may not be aware that he is not supposed to be distributing anything until an inventory has been done.

If some of the assets (such as the CD's and bank accounts) had designated beneficiaries, then those pass directly to the named beneficiaries and even if they are mentioned in a will or trust, the beneficiary designations take priority and that is why they don't need to be listed as estate assets. Maybe the person who included those assets in the will or in the trust did not know this at the time it was written up.

Get an attorney ASAP so you can try to stop him before he gives away anything of significant value. You won't be receiving any information about the distribution of financial assets until the end of the trust process, near when it closes.

 

[Zigner]

I know I must be dense today. I'm not understanding how he can dispose of items without informing the other beneficiaries (my other brother and myself) or giving either of us access to the home to retrieve such assets. Does he have the right to just get rid of everything because he is the trustee?

And, in what type of document would the distribution of the financial assets be covered? I don't have anything regarding them.

If you can't get a clear answer to this from the trust, then you will want to consult with your own attorney. I (we) have no idea of the specific wording of the trust, and a full review of it falls outside the scope of this forum.


And...what Dandy Don said too.

 

[LdiJ]

I know I must be dense today. I'm not understanding how he can dispose of items without informing the other beneficiaries (my other brother and myself) or giving either of us access to the home to retrieve such assets. Does he have the right to just get rid of everything because he is the trustee?

And, in what type of document would the distribution of the financial assets be covered? I don't have anything regarding them.

Part of the job of a trustee would be to liquidate the assets into cash, and to clean out any real estate that needs to be sold. If the things that your brother is getting rid of are things with very little value, or he is selling the things that have greater value and putting the money into the trust account, then he may be doing nothing wrong.

 

[davew128]

What brother is doing is improper and illegal, and he probably doesn't much care. He could be sued for breach of fiduciary duty.

And this is based on exactly what?

 

[Mackmc]

Did you mean to say "and the trust BECAME irrevocable"? He may not be aware that he is not supposed to be distributing anything until an inventory has been done.

Yes, absolutely meant "BECAME". Oops on my part! And I think you are much more trusting than I happen to be. An attorney I spoke with previously called his behavior "weasel-ly". Seemed to fit the situation.

If some of the assets (such as the CD's and bank accounts) had designated beneficiaries, then those pass directly to the named beneficiaries and even if they are mentioned in a will or trust, the beneficiary designations take priority and that is why they don't need to be listed as estate assets. Maybe the person who included those assets in the will or in the trust did not know this at the time it was written up.

Ah-ha. Now I understand. That makes absolute sense that they are not listed in the document.

Get an attorney ASAP so you can try to stop him before he gives away anything of significant value. You won't be receiving any information about the distribution of financial assets until the end of the trust process, near when it closes.

Like most on this board, an attorney is completely out of my price range. Would a cease and desist letter from me to both him and his attorney put him on enough notice that someone is watching and not just rolling over?

 

[Mackmc]

Part of the job of a trustee would be to liquidate the assets into cash, and to clean out any real estate that needs to be sold. If the things that your brother is getting rid of are things with very little value, or he is selling the things that have greater value and putting the money into the trust account, then he may be doing nothing wrong.

But what if a beneficiary wants the stuff and doesn't want the small amount of cash that would be realized? I guess that's really my point. He hasn't notified anyone that he is getting rid of stuff. I stumbled onto the fact only by accident.

I live out of state so I can't just drive by my parents' home to check on it. When I went to the home in January to check on my father, he had put a chain and a lock around the door to prevent anyone entering. He then hid my father for four months and would not reveal where he was hospitalized.

He will not accept mail from anyone in the family, has phone numbers and email addresses blocked so no one can communicate. I truly wish I had the funds to take him on!

Any other suggestions?

 

[davew128]

Would a cease and desist letter from me to both him and his attorney put him on enough notice that someone is watching and not just rolling over?

Were I him, and I received such a letter, I'd return it to sender with the letters G,F, and Y, particularly if I was performing my duties as required.

 

[Mackmc]

Were I him, and I received such a letter, I'd return it to sender with the letters G,F, and Y, particularly if I was performing my duties as required.

Nice. Thank you for your helpful information. EDIT: I'll go ahead and edit my response. People like you enjoy being a troll, so have at it! And may God bless you in His infinite wisdom.

 

[davew128]

Nice. Thank you for your helpful information. EDIT: I'll go ahead and edit my response. People like you enjoy being a troll, so have at it! And may God bless you in His infinite wisdom.

There are no people like me. The world would be a more efficient place if it were. My advice stands. If you are doing things as they should be done, and someone goes off on you for it then IMO that person deserves to be made to cry by any means necessary. Comments about their questionable parentage work well in that regard.

 

[Dandy Don]

He would completely ignore a letter from you. The letter needs to come from an attorney which he would be likely to take more seriously.

If you work, you should be able to afford the services of an attorney, and even if you can't afford one, you truly need one to assist you with this. Explain that you can't pay upfront but that the only services you need right now is for him to write the letter and get answers to your questions about how brother is disposing of items. Since you are a beneficiary of this trust and if you expect to receive a payout from it, tell him you can pay when you receive your check. Or ask your other brother to pay and you will split the cost and reimburse him later.