Greedy Sisters

[Supersleuth]

my mother passed away in jan 2000 she had a living trust naming my two sisters 30% each one grandchild 10% and myself at 30%.
my mother named my eldest sister as the trustee. I had been living with my mother for the past 10 years. approx. one year prior to my mothers death my sister re-married and moved to london and will not devulge her new address. she retained an attorney here in calif. and he is named as the attorney of record for the estate.
my mother had a savings account which she told us (prior to death) was to be distributed evenly among all of the grandchildren, this is not written into the trust, it was only a verbal request. after several months passed and after numerous requests as to why she had not disburst the money to the grandchildren she replied that she had been real busy but she would get around to it soon. a few more months passed and my mothers savings account statement arrivied indicating a 0 balance. i then contacted all of the grandchilden and none had received a cent. and i learned that they had purchased new cars and a number of other items. as you could imagine i was upset with my sister allowing this to happen. so i filed a civil case on behalf of all the grandchildren against my two sisters and the one (adult) grandchild. after my sisters became aware of the suit they filed a unlawful detainer and had me kicked out on the streets last may. i dropped my civil case and retained an attorney. since then they have sold the house and all property and after formal a request from my attorney have submitted the final accounting. stating the savings account was not a part of the trust and that my mother named just my two sisters as benificiaries likewise with the life insurance policies and other bank accounts.
just recently all of the grandchildten received a check in the mail for their part of the savings account which was the reason i filed the civil case to begin with, however the estate attorney is trying to surcharge my part of the estate for his time which he is claiming is around $30,000.00 furthermore he is filing a motion to remove me as a benificiary for filing the civil case claiming a contested the trust. however i did not contest the trust only the fiduciary's dudies.
i am homeless and have not received any funds from my sisters or the attorney but all the other benificiaries are paid.
my attorney seems to be draging his feet.
what do i do help!

 

[advisor10]

1-31-2002

DEAR SUPERSLEUTH:

So sorry that your greedy relatives have made things so difficult for you.

Please send me an e-mail message directly to my e-mail address shown below so that I can send you a confidential tip on how to handle your situation.

As far as the money in your mother's savings account, your sisters MIGHT be correct (if they are not lying) about saying that your mother named them as beneficiaries for that account--but your attorney would need to ask them to PROVE IT by submitting to the probate court the signature card or document that lists them as beneficiary, signed by your mother. If they can't produce documentation, then that money should be reported instead as a probate asset, to be divided according to the will's instructions.

The insurance policies are NOT considered part of the estate, but the bank accounts would be.

Your mother made a mistake by making those instructions only a verbal request--she should have been advised to make her instructions official by having them written down, either in the will or in the trust. But I do applaud you for trying to do the right thing in attempting to have your mother's wishes carried out about this matter and seeing that the money is divided correctly.

Did your mother have a will, and was it submitted to the probate court, or did she put all her assets into the trust?

How much money was in that savings account?

Have you seen the official trust documents (that describe how the trust is set up, the legal language, etc.)?

How do you know for sure that the checks the other beneficiaries received came from the savings account? It is possible that that money came from dividing up the TRUST. How much were the checks for?

The motion that was filed to remove you as a beneficiary (for filing the civil case) is so ridiculous that it is almost certain the judge would rule in your favor in dismissing this motion, but you must make sure that your attorney gives a strong defense of your position by mentioning, as you said, that you were NOT CONTESTING THE TRUST, you were only trying to see that the money went to the estate and was properly divided amongst the heirs.

How do you know that the estate attorney is trying to charge your part of the estate for his $30,000 in legal services? This is highly improper, if not illegal. His expenses should be paid either by the trust or deducted from the estate. Your attorney should strongly object to this, as well.

He should also make the other side look bad by bringing up the fact that, as a trust beneficiary, you should have received your check at the same time the other beneficiaries did. What is their explanation for not doing that in the proper time frame?

Please do not make the mistake of offending your attorney by saying that he "seems to be dragging his feet". All he can do is wait for the motion to be heard (whenever it is scheduled to be heard in court) and wait for the process to work itself out. Just make sure to communicate with him to let him know he must defend you against these weak, false allegations to let the court know you have a strong defense.

After the court sees how these relatives are trying to harass/railroad you, things should start working in your favor. Also ask your attorney to contact the other estate attorney (by certified mail or by phone) to get an estimate of what you can expect to receive from the trust (what your share will be).

Also, if you have time, you should visit your local library to check out 1-2 books about trusts or living trusts, and read them, so you can educate yourself on what all is involved with living trusts. Some of the information might apply to your situation, while other information may not be relevant to your case.

I am hoping for a great outcome for you, at least where you will hopefully be given enough funds from the trust to be able to start a new, more comfortable life--just be patient!

SINCERELY,

advisor (e-mail: [email protected])