Trustee stole assets, other problems/questions

[aisurrogate]

What is the name of your state? CA/OR
My Grandmother passed away 1-2001, leaving a substantial estate. (one house, one duplex, vehicles, CDs, etc) My grandmother had one child, my mother, who is deceased, and four grandchildren. (my brother, Myself,My Sister, And Youngest Brother whose father is trustee)
My Youngest brothers Father was named Trustee (we were told). He has never sent any of us a copy of the Trust, ANY documentation at all. He refuses to answer letters, phone calls, and emails. In spring of 2001, he sent my older brother and myself 10,000 each, and my sister 12,000. I do not know what the younger brother has recieved.

The house that my grandmother lived in was sold in 2001, but the duplex(duplex+apartment) has not been sold. (I found that online with placer county records) I was told that the duplex cannot be sold untill my grandmothers boyfriend dies, or untill after 10 years, wichever comes first.

I also found out that withing months after my grandmother passed away, trustee purchased a new home. (he had been a deadbeat with no job as long as I knew him). My sister talked to my younger brother today, and found out he has been in and out of jail. He complained to her that he was angry because they (him and his father, trustee) were broke. He complained about trustee giving 20,000 to friends, and about trustee letting people live in duplex for free. He also complained about trustee having to pay taxes on my grandmothers property out of their own pocket because money is gone.

I contacted a lawyer about this 2 months ago, and STILL havent been able to talk to him. He ignored me for over a month and a half untill I emailed him last week to ask what he had decided, and he scheduled a phone call last thursday that he did not keep, and asked to call me this comming thursday instead.

Is there a way for me to get a copy of the trust, or any other financial information on the trust? Is there a way for me to file papers or something to get trustee removed, try to figure out what assets are left? I have searched online, and all I ever find is forms to create a trust, nothing to help.

I do not have the money right now to pay a lawyer. The only reason I even decided to seek out the trust is because my husband is near death, and we have been financially depleated. The trust was created in Placer county California, I lived in Indiana at the time of my grandmothers death, and I currently live in Oregon.

Will I need to travel to California to take care of these matters? It wouldnt be feasable at this time for me to travel with my husband so sick.

Any advice/help would be great. Also and links anyone has to 'self help' type websites would be wonderfull. Thank you all, and have a lovely day!
Jen Aarons

 

[Dandy Don]

You have the right as a beneficiary to request a copy of the trust and its tax returns by sending the trustee a certified letter asking for it, but if it comes from just you he is likely to ignore it with no consequences. Better to get an attorney to draft the letter on your behalf.

You should be checking at the Placer County Courthouse to find out for sure if there was a will or whether all assets were put into the trust.

Even though you can't afford an attorney at this time, this is not a project you can do yourself. You need to be contacting a trust attorney in Auburn, CA (the capital of Placer County) to consult with by e-mail or by phone to get your situation evaluated for the best possible options to pursue. Trustee seems to be guilty of theft or breach of fiduciary duty and if your attorney can get proof of this it may be possible to have the police file charges against him instead of your having to file a lawsuit. Attorney may be able to go to court to ask that a trustee's bond be posted to protect the interest of the beneficiaries from future theft and also may have enough evidence to ask for trustee's removal and replacement.

Too bad that you didn't get legal help a long time ago--you should have been suspicious when you received a check without the copy of the trust.

What is the value of the home? Life estate normally will need to be written down somewhere, most likely in the will or trust. Luckily for you this asset is still available, so when it is sold in the future hopefully you and the other heirs will qualify to share in the profits.

DANDY DON IN OKLAHOMA ([email protected])