mistrust

[accountess]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? NJ but the trust was filed in FL.
My grandparents filed a trust many years ago to support their son, (my biological father) for the duration of his life. Then the remaining property is to be distributed evenly among the three beneficiaries. I'm not even sure if the biological father is still alive. My grandparents are both deceased. Grandfather passed in 1996, grandmother in 2002. I am named as one of the three beneficiaries to the trust. One sister and an aunt of mine, are the executor and trustee for the trust. I have in my possession, a notarized copy from 1991, of disposition of property. I was to receive several items of jewelry but have received nothing. My grandparents home was sold in 2004 and both grantors signed the property forms at the sale. Again I heard nothing.

One trustee is an attorney and it is my belief that I should have received an annual reporting, the other trustee is an accountant regarding the trust, especially with the sale of the primary residence. It is my belief that these two would like to split the assets evenly among themselves instead of into thirds. I would like to be treated fairly in this matter and want to receive what my grandparents wishes were, regardless of the estranged family dynamic. I'm not in a position to employ an attorney especially out of state.

Could this inaction be a cause to petition the court for removal and replacement of these two? Also is this cause for disbarment? The attorney (sister), helped me many years ago with several legal issues. Please advise. Thank you.

[Dandy Don]

The correct term for the person who manages a trust is the trustee. The term executor only applies to the will, which is handled in probate court. Trusts are administered privately outside of court.

If the jewelry items were mentioned in the will (do you know what the items would be worth), then it is odd that you haven't received them. Were you even notified about the probate of the will? If you know where the decedent died, you can contact the county courthouse probate court to see if the will was filed and if it was, you can either visit the courthouse in person to look at the probate file or order copies of the file by mail to see exactly how the estate was handled. You can then consult a probate attorney if you wish to pursue action against the executor about why you did not receive the jewelry.

Yes, a trustee is required to provide an annual accounting, but if you were not named as a beneficiary in the trust, you are not entitled to it. A beneficiary must ASK the trustee for a copy of the trust. If you were asking on your father's behalf, you first need to take steps to find out if your biological father is still alive (I can help you with the search if necessary) or deceased. If he is still alive, HE can ask the trustee by certified mail for an accounting statement for each year the trust has existed, if he has not already been paid by the trust. If he is deceased, you will need to consult with a trust attorney to find out whether or not you have the right to claim the funds that would have been paid to your father.

Right now you have no evidence or legal basis to be asking for anyone's removal or disbarment. If you are employed, you can afford an initial consultation with a Florida trust attorney to find out how best to pursue your next course of action, and usually an initial consultation is free or very inexpensive.

DANDY DON IN OKLAHOMA (tiekh@yahoo.com)

[curb1]

What does the attorney(sister), or the accountant, say when you asked her the same questions you have asked us?

[TrustUser]

since i am not reading your trust, there can always be exceptions. so let me just speak on general terms.

the beneficiary should not have to ask for anything. it is the trustee's job to carry out the instructions of the trust.

the instructions are gonna be to do whatever the grantor intended to do with the trust assets in favor of the beneficiaries. this is what beneficiaries are.

so the trustee should have contacted all the beneficiaries fairly immediately - if for no other reason, than to basically introduce himself, and let them know that they are indeed beneficiaries.

if a trustee did not do this, in my opinion, he could be removed for lack of doing his duty.

at that time, you could have asked for a copy of the trust document.

in many instances, the beneficiaries have the complete power to remove the trustee whenever they desire. the trustee does not have to have done something wrong.

if you were a beneficiary of the trust and not contacted, that pretty much means that someone is trying to cheat you out of what was supposed to be given to you.

dont accept any of this "it takes a long time to do such and such".

it dont take any time to contact the beneficiaries. and there is no good reason not to do so. even if it was gonna take a year to sell a piece of property, etc. - that does not inhibit the trustee to contact the beneficiary.

time is not on your side. it has been a LONG TIME since your grandparents have died.

although you say that the only beneficiary of the trust is your biological father. and you dont know if he is alive ? you must be estranged from him ?

if he is alive, then you are not yet a beneficiary. and i suspect that there may be no legal reason to contact you, as of yet.

you should find out if he is alive - this is important.

you can also check the county records to see how the transfer of title went. it may still be in trust, with just a trustee name change.

quite a few things for you to check out.

[curb1]

There is one other thing that could explain this. The original trust could have been changed, or terminated, before death of grandmother in 2002.

[TrustUser]

yes, it could have.

it would be interesting to see the title changes on whatever real estate was owned by the grandparents.

if it is currently owned by individuals, then the op could figure that there is probably nothing left in the trust.

without seeing the document, no way to tell if the op had anything coming.

i cant figure out why the op waited so long. if i am aware that i am a beneficiary at some point in time, i would think i would look into things somewhat soon after such time that the death occurred.

i think the op faces an uphill battle. but first he needs to determine if his father is still alive.

and also look at the county records to see if any of the property is in the names of the other 2 beneficiaries.

i dont know for sure, but i would suspect that evidence showing that he was once a beneficiary of a trust, would at least give him the ability to view the trust document. hopefully, someone with better legal experience will comment ?