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possible trust contest

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gradstude13

Junior Member
What is the name of your state? California

My grandmother died in 2004, leaving no will or trust (even though I, the grandson advised my grandparents to get a living trust. I do not want to see the trust - I just wanted them to have a Living Trust leaving the estate to whomever they wanted to). They were the kind of people who came from the depression and spending $1500 on a trust was outrageous as they could easily put the accounts as transfer on there own.

My grandfather, who hates his daughter for what she did to me (giving me a fractured skull, and paying no child support) wants me to have everything in the estate. Shortly after grandma died, he developed a Revocable Trust that everything goes to me, and $1.00 will go to his daughter and disinherited his daughter. There is also a no-contest clause to this trust as well. He also put his daughter's two other children as the contingent beneficiaries.

His daughter does not know anything about the trust, but I just know one day she will contest to everything because they didn't have a Living Trust prior to her mom's death. She had already said to me when I phoned her up saying her mom was in the hospital that she was going to sue me; not now because she felt that was wrong to sue her dad, but sue me afterwords. I did keep one bank account statement from 1975 saying the account was in my name as a trustee. When both of my grandparents were alive - I also found bank accounts from the 90's that they both were monitoring their estates leaving everything in the bank accounts to me as a transfer/trustee.

I advised my grandfather to start writing out checks instead of cash to pay the utilities to show he is mentally sound to write out checks instead of paying cash leaving a paper trail.

Could there still be a contest even though I can prove that he is in his sound mind to write out checks for utility bills?
 
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Dandy Don

Senior Member
When he drew up the revocable trust, did he do it all himself or was an attorney consulted? It would be to his and your advantage to have a trust attorney look at his document to make sure there are no potential complications. If he won't pay for it, you should do so and make confidential arrangements with the attorney who is reviewing it to advise grandpa that he will do it at no cost to him.

All he needs to do to make it ironclad is to put in a brief explanation of a few words saying WHY he is disinheriting the daughter. And if he will go he should also have a physician give him a mental competency test which he will most likely pass with flying colors--then there would be documented proof that would only help your case if it comes to court.

There could still be a contest, since daughter will probably do so out of spite and an unscrupulous attorney will take her case by falsely telling her she could win, when she won't, just to collect her attorney fees. But at least you would be on the strongest legal grounds.

DANDY DON IN OKLAHOMA ([email protected])
 

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