Trust Question (PLEASE HELP!)

[cobrathunder7]

Hello, I have a question about estates, trusts, and inheritance and could use some advice on what, if anything, my family and I can do to find out if we’re getting an inheritance and the amount. I’m a 30 year old doctoral student at Pitt, and have done my best to research if any information is available, but law is not my forte. We live in PA, the will/trust was established in Texas.

On January 8th, 2011, my uncle (my mother’s brother) informed my family that he had established a trust for us (my mom, my dad, and I) when he passed away, and that our family would be taken care of. He passed away on February 11th, 2011, in Dallas, Texas. Four months later, we have little to no information on if there is a trust, the amount, or anything related to his estate. In his will, his life partner was named as executor, and my aunt was named as alternate executor. My aunt does not have a good relationship with his partner, and he supposedly refuses to be in contact with her.

She sent all of her siblings (six) what she called a “copy of the will” and only sent us pages 1-3, 38-40, which acknowledges nothing to us. She claims that she does not have a copy of anything else, but from speaking with a recently completed law student at George Washington University, we are under the impression that in Texas, both the executor and alternate executor are provided with full copies of the will. I believe that she is lying to my parents, but my mother refuses to accept that.

What my dad, mom, and I want to know is:

1) Is there a time limit to when we will be notified if there is a trust established for us?

2) Is there a way for me to get the information without my name (or my parents name) being revealed? I have the name of the person who was named the executor of the will, the property manager of his three properties, and the law firm where he committed to the will.

3) My mother is fairly old, if a trust was established “for her” and this gets hung up for years, and she would pass away, would my father and I receive the trust or does it go with her?

Thanks in advance for taking the time to read this. My parents and I are at a standstill and have nowhere to turn, I wish I had the money to invest in an attorney to expedite the process, but unfortunately, neither my parents or I do. Thanks so much and looking forward to feedback.

You can e-mail me back at [email protected]. Thanks again, looking forward to feedback.What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?

 

[curb1]

1) When you made a call to " his life partner" to express your condolences, how did he respond?

2) Who is the trustee for the trust?

3) Has the will been submitted to a probate court in Dallas? The executor does not have authority to act as executor until authorized by the court and then the proceedings are public information. However, the trust (if there is one) might not be public information. The trust may, or may not, be recorded.

 

[cobrathunder7]

Reply

(1) There was no funeral and the body was cremated. He said he needed time to himself, but that was four months ago. He did ask my mother for her full name, address, and e-mail, which tells me that there might be something. I never met him, and my mother only met him once to my knowledge. The deceased would come to Pittsburgh and visit with us, but would never bring any of his "personal life" with him, probably because his other siblings are fanatical Christians. But he called us all of the time, helped my dad through 3 cancer treatments by talking with his doctors (he was an HIV/AIDS Clinician and had an MD), and wrote us all e-mails regularly. His partner had a MAJOR falling out with my aunt (the alternate executor), and he is not responding to any members calls or e-mails, which concerns me.

(2) The partner is the "trustee" to my knowledge. I don't know. I know the full name of the property manager for his three properties (which I don't want to post on here in case it could be traced) and my dad has the name of the attorney that initialized the will.

(3) I do not know if the trust has been submitted to a probate court in Dallas. How can I find out without my name (or my mom's) coming up?

 

[cobrathunder7]

Thanks for your input, anything helps. My parents and I are clueless on what to do. Any advice is helping us, and the three of us appreciate it.

 

[TrustUser]

remember that a will and a trust are completely separate animals.

the executor controls the will, once he is given permission by the court.

the trust is controlled by the trustee, and is not under the jurisdiction of a court.

i am assuming that "the trust" was created beforehand, and not as a consequence of the will.

if you know the real estate that was owned, you could check the county records to see how it was titled (trust, or individual name).

it would seem likely that if a trust was created, some or all of the real estate would have been placed in trust.

i dont know what the exact legal timing is, but a trustee should contact the beneficiaries very early on in the process, if for no other reason than to notify them that they are beneficiaries.

if none of his three properties are titled to a trust, i am guessing that there is no trust, and everything is controlled by the will. of course, bank accounts, etc. could have joint titling, such that they would not be part of the probate process.

 

[cobrathunder7]

Thanks for the input! To my knowledge, the properties are being sold and are listed. I only have an address for one of them, and it is on the market right now with a listing saying "sale pending." I have no clue on the other 2 properties. We were kind of surprised when it showed up on that estate managers page saying that he owned two other properties.

No one has notified us of anything. Based on the discussion, I'm guessing that's a bad thing, yet, he did ask for the e-mail addresses, phone numbers, and addresses for us, so that's leaving me with hope.

I think based on these responses that I need a copy of the will, but I have no idea how to acquire one without anyone knowing that I (or my mom) requested it. If anyone else has any other suggestions, PLEASE let me know, I appreciate your input, post on here or e-mail me at [email protected]

 

[anteater]

I have a suggestion for you:

Forget the "stealth mode."

Contact the Dallas County Probate Division:
http://www.dallascourts.com/forms/lstCourts.asp?division=pro

Contact your uncle's attorney.

Check the Dallas Count Appraisal District's site to find out more about the properties:

http://www.dallascad.org/


Keep in mind that there is often a delay in filing to open probate. Four months is a bit long but not unusual. And, in Texas, the personal representative appointed by the court then has 60 days to notify beneficiaries that probate has commenced.

http://www.statutes.legis.state.tx.us/Docs/PB/htm/PB.V.htm#128

 

[cobrathunder7]

I accomplished two out of the three things on the list. My mother (out of "respect" for the deceased) does not want me to contact the attorneys. Which I 100% disagree with, but they would prefer that I find out information without "offending" other family members.

But, I found out quite a bit, whether it means anything is up to interpretation. One of the properties (selling on the market right now) is worth $330,000. This one is trusted. The name of it is the ________ Estate Life Trust as the owner. The other two are not, they are just in his name.

I also contacted the Dallas, Austin, and Ft. Worth probate courts to see if anything was filed (since that's where he owned all 3 properties, not sure of where that would place the actual estate) and nothing has been filed yet, he did pass away on February 11th, 2011, so it has been four months still.

At this point, is there anything else I can (or should) do, aside from contacting the attorneys?

Thanks again for all of your input, I'm very appreciative to the people that have responded on here, all I want to do is hope that my parents have a sum of money where they can retire on. My mom is 65 and is still working and I have 2 more years before I finish my program and can only hope to gain employment with the market the way it is. The stress this is causing my parents is too much, and I'm hoping this gets resolved.

Thanks for everything!

 

[curb1]

That is an interesting statement, "The stress this is causing my parents is too much ....".

Why would they be "stressed" about wondering if they will receive what is basically a gift? Do they feel they deserve this?

At this point the process is business. Keep the feelings out of this. Be courteous and respectful. No need to be tiptoeing. Make the phone calls.