3-5-2002
DEAR ROMEZ:
How much money have you received from the trust, and how much money do you think is left in the trust now?
You do have the right to bring a lawsuit or have an investigation done if you have evidence that a breach of fiduciary duty has occurred, but that type of lawsuit is costly in terms of legal fees. It's not clear from your message whether you think the trustee has erred or whether the conglomerate has erred, or I guess it could be a combination of both if they are conspiring to steal.
Before you make a decision to proceed down that avenue, you need to get a copy of your trust documents to find out exactly what the terms of the trust are. There is a federal law called the Uniform Probate Code (and Minnesota has adopted certain sections of that law), under which you (or, preferably your attorney, since their letterhead carries more official weight and you are less likely to be ignored by the trustee) can request, by certified mail, that the trustee send you a copy of your trust documents.
If you are persistent, there should be a trust attorney somewhere locally who would be willing to take on this conglomerate. After all, it is not a matter of how big they are, but it IS a matter of whether they are following the trust laws properly or not--they are not above the law. I congratulate you for standing up for your rights and wanting to get to the bottom of this and not letting them get away with improper, illegal conduct!
SINCERELY,
advisor
