So sorry about the mess that your brother has left things in.
From what you have described, you have more than enough grounds to start the process of getting him removed as executor, and now I get the surprise that he is also trustee!! Have the trust beneficiaries been provided with a copy of the trust? If not, then they have the right (under a federal law called the UNIFORM PROBATE CODE) to request a copy of it (and an accounting for each year the trust has been in existence) by sending the trustee a certified letter making such a request (actually it's better if you have your attorney make the request in your behalf, because that way the trustee is less likely to ignore the request).
You also need to get a second opinion from a probate attorney about the pay rate for executors in South Carolina--it is possible that your mother may have paid him too much--law says that the rate is up to 5% of personal property plus 5% of proceeds of sold real estate plus 5% of income earned by the estate (this definition is so complicated that I have no idea of whether personal property includes the cash assets)--if he was paid too much then he either needs to repay the estate or have the replacement executor deduct the amount due from the brother's share of the estate. But if the estate value is high enough, then I guess he might qualify for the $10K, but the basis for him to be compensated should NOT be based on what mother thinks an attorney would charge.
His excuses don't stand up to examination, although I must admit he is a good enough liar to be believed by someone who doesn't know the facts. He may have authority as trustee to decide how trust money is invested, but that doesn't have anything to do with how the trust is handled right now--there are specific instructions in the trust about what he should be doing and when he should be doing it. There may be some matters in the trust that might overlap with probating the estate--but getting the estate probated and handling the trust are 2 separate, individual matters that must be handled separately.
If he didn't insist on backup billing documentation from the attorney--he can still request that information from the attorney. Requesting the disbursements ahead of time also seems highly improper. Do you all even know the name of the bank where the trust account money is being held? Ask the bank or get a copy of the trust to find out if the trust names an alternate/replacement trustee (if the bank has a trust department, brother could probably ask someone in the trust department to handle this money if he doesn't want to do it). You need to find out exactly what the trust says about how your mother is supposed to be receiving her income, and brother should be cooperative in providing that information--if not, then it shouldn't be too difficult to get the replacement trustee to provide that information or to ask the court to get information about what your mother needs to do to get access to her money.
Good luck in getting this mess straightened out--now will you all have to spend your money to hire an attorney to help you straighten out a situation that should have been much simpler?
DANDY DON (
[email protected])