What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? California
I'm asking my questions first because I don't know how to explain things without a wall of text:
1. What are the beneficiaries allowed to see? Are they only allowed to see the end result or are they allowed to see what is going on during the process for accountability?
2. How can you get a copy of the trust when you are ignored by the lawyer?
3. If a successor trustee is named, can that person be appointed by the beneficiaries or do we have to file with probate court?
4. (after reading below) Is there any other advice you can give me and my sisters? We are not well versed with legal issues.
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In the years before their deaths, my grandparents made it clear to all their kids and grandkids what they would be receiving. Once the bills were paid, my mother would receive the full title to her house (she had my grandparents cosign on a home loan and then never paid into it so my grandparents paid it off). My uncle would receive $100,000 maximum after all bills were paid. My three sisters and I would each receive equal shares of natural gas and oil stocks and any remaining assets beyond my uncle's payment which included the sale of all physical items owned by my grandpa.
My oldest sister was initially named as the primary trustee but shortly before his death my grandpa named my mom as primary and my sister as secondary trustee. This was something that left everyone scratching their head since my mom is notoriously bad with money and my grandpa was not close with my mother.
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My grandma died about five years ago and in January of this year my grandpa died. After the funeral my mother removed several folders from the house which contained information on various assets. A few days after that my mother met with the lawyer who oversaw the trust and the lawyer wrote her a check for $127,000 from an annuity my grandpa had. My mom put this check into her personal bank account and no one knows what has happened to it or the folders with the assets organized inside.
Over the last seven months my mom has made a few trips out to my grandfathers house (in Kansas) but I heard of no progress being made so I started to ask questions. I learned that she had sold several items from my grandpa's house while she was there and pocketing the money. She has also brought back several items to keep for herself. During her last visit she drove my grandpa's vehicle back and has been using it for personal use. She has said that keeping the house up and running is costing her $500 to $600 a month but I lived with my grandparents while a teenager and never saw their utilities amounting to more than $100 a month. She also stated that it was going to take 3+ years to sell the house.
When I asked to see everything that she had in regards to bills of sale for items sold and bills that were paid using the annuity she became very defensive. After a long argument I convinced her that there needs to be some level of accountability and communication with the beneficiaries and she agreed to let me come over and try to help her sort through everything.
When I came to her house everything was absolute chaos. Her personal bills were intermixed with oil royalty checks. The life insurance policy was in a folder but nothing had been done with it yet. There were missing checks for royalties from the previous six months. I know there were several other investments that my grandpa had at his time of death but nothing was produced.
My mom did let me see a flow sheet which basically said what everyone already knew about how the estate was to be broken down, but couldn't produce a actual copy of the trust. The flow sheet wasn't anything official. The only other document she had was something from the lawyer which named her as the trustee. My mother stated that she needed a copy of my grandma's will before she could do anything even though she had died 5 years before my grandpa and left everything to his...(this has lead to speculation that my mother is hoping that my grandmother left her money or assets that my grandpa did not).
I offered to have her come down, bring everything she has with her, and I could help get everything organized and open two accounts with the trust name on it. One for the annuity/assets sold/life insurance/other investments and one for the oil/gas royalties. I don't know if she will actually show up or pull out of the offer.
I've also attempted to contact the lawyer several times to get a copy of the trust and to find out the status on a few assets he has in his possession but have not received anything back.
I am not sure what else myself or the other beneficiaries can do to get things on track or help with getting the estate settled. I know my older sister could get done in a week what my mother has not in seven months...we just aren't sure what to do at this point.
I'm asking my questions first because I don't know how to explain things without a wall of text:
1. What are the beneficiaries allowed to see? Are they only allowed to see the end result or are they allowed to see what is going on during the process for accountability?
2. How can you get a copy of the trust when you are ignored by the lawyer?
3. If a successor trustee is named, can that person be appointed by the beneficiaries or do we have to file with probate court?
4. (after reading below) Is there any other advice you can give me and my sisters? We are not well versed with legal issues.
======================================
In the years before their deaths, my grandparents made it clear to all their kids and grandkids what they would be receiving. Once the bills were paid, my mother would receive the full title to her house (she had my grandparents cosign on a home loan and then never paid into it so my grandparents paid it off). My uncle would receive $100,000 maximum after all bills were paid. My three sisters and I would each receive equal shares of natural gas and oil stocks and any remaining assets beyond my uncle's payment which included the sale of all physical items owned by my grandpa.
My oldest sister was initially named as the primary trustee but shortly before his death my grandpa named my mom as primary and my sister as secondary trustee. This was something that left everyone scratching their head since my mom is notoriously bad with money and my grandpa was not close with my mother.
=============================
My grandma died about five years ago and in January of this year my grandpa died. After the funeral my mother removed several folders from the house which contained information on various assets. A few days after that my mother met with the lawyer who oversaw the trust and the lawyer wrote her a check for $127,000 from an annuity my grandpa had. My mom put this check into her personal bank account and no one knows what has happened to it or the folders with the assets organized inside.
Over the last seven months my mom has made a few trips out to my grandfathers house (in Kansas) but I heard of no progress being made so I started to ask questions. I learned that she had sold several items from my grandpa's house while she was there and pocketing the money. She has also brought back several items to keep for herself. During her last visit she drove my grandpa's vehicle back and has been using it for personal use. She has said that keeping the house up and running is costing her $500 to $600 a month but I lived with my grandparents while a teenager and never saw their utilities amounting to more than $100 a month. She also stated that it was going to take 3+ years to sell the house.
When I asked to see everything that she had in regards to bills of sale for items sold and bills that were paid using the annuity she became very defensive. After a long argument I convinced her that there needs to be some level of accountability and communication with the beneficiaries and she agreed to let me come over and try to help her sort through everything.
When I came to her house everything was absolute chaos. Her personal bills were intermixed with oil royalty checks. The life insurance policy was in a folder but nothing had been done with it yet. There were missing checks for royalties from the previous six months. I know there were several other investments that my grandpa had at his time of death but nothing was produced.
My mom did let me see a flow sheet which basically said what everyone already knew about how the estate was to be broken down, but couldn't produce a actual copy of the trust. The flow sheet wasn't anything official. The only other document she had was something from the lawyer which named her as the trustee. My mother stated that she needed a copy of my grandma's will before she could do anything even though she had died 5 years before my grandpa and left everything to his...(this has lead to speculation that my mother is hoping that my grandmother left her money or assets that my grandpa did not).
I offered to have her come down, bring everything she has with her, and I could help get everything organized and open two accounts with the trust name on it. One for the annuity/assets sold/life insurance/other investments and one for the oil/gas royalties. I don't know if she will actually show up or pull out of the offer.
I've also attempted to contact the lawyer several times to get a copy of the trust and to find out the status on a few assets he has in his possession but have not received anything back.
I am not sure what else myself or the other beneficiaries can do to get things on track or help with getting the estate settled. I know my older sister could get done in a week what my mother has not in seven months...we just aren't sure what to do at this point.
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