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wills/trust fund

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T

tank

Guest
this is taking place right now in iowa
i have been told by my father(trustee) that a living trust fund ,set up by my uncle (trustor)( uncle by marriage only) is irrevocable and in my name only. and i(beneficiary) would not recieve the funds until both parents have passed away and thier estate is closed. and that if anyone in the family asked about it they would be told nothing about it.

my fathers estate is closed and my mothers is closing soon. my mother's will has been changed to read anything left in the estate would be shared by all the children. the youngest brother is the excutor of the estate and has opened an account to funnel the money from the estate. he got caught with the account the lawyer for the estate said he doesn't know anything about it, but everyone else in the family does. the lawyer has told me that if i don't sign to agree to the mess he would take me to court and turn it over to the state of iowa and have them take care of it. the exuctor has also informed me that i could not call him to ask questions or he will have my phone removed.

by changing the will and having to sign thier agreement to share in this mess. does this have any effect on the living trust fund? is it possible for the excutor of my mothers will to have control over my fathers(trustee) part of the living trust fund? can the excutor of my mother's will use the paperwork that my father had from being the trustee can he find the location and access the living trust fund? can the account that was opened by my brother (excutor)be used to manipulate the money from the trust fund in any way shape or form? what should i do?
 


A

advisor10

Guest
2-4-2002

DEAR TANK:

Changing the will has NO EFFECT ON THE TRUST--the living trust MUST FOLLOW strict instructions set up the trustor. I don't think your brother will be able to access the trust fund unless he was somehow named as a co-trustee, but the only way you will find it is to get a trust attorney to find out how to get more information about your trust. Your father was somewhat negligent in not telling you where the trust was located and who was in charge--could you get more information about this from your uncle?

Go to the county courthouse (of the city where your father died) to look at his probate file. It will contain the will, and the names of the attorneys or executor and/or the bank that is holding the trust, then you could contact the attorneys or the executor or the bank to get information about the trust. The exact trust financial information will not be in the probate file, since that is confidential, but there should be some clues about where the trust is.

As a beneficiary of the trust, you are entitled to know how the trust is set up and you need to request to see the original trust documents or have your attorney advise you on how to do this.

You really do need to get your own trust attorney or probate attorney to represent your interests. Your younger brother's attitude shows that he is jealous of you (probably resents the fact that you will be getting more money from the trust). If he was a responsible and ethical executor, he would/should be glad to furnish you information about what you are possibly entitled to, but it will take him a few months or so to handle the affairs of the estate.

Don't sign anything he gives you without having it reviewed by your attorney first. His threats are only idle threats (which I don't think he will carry out, since it would cost him as much money in legal fees to take you to court, and he would have no grounds to file an action against you--any charges he would make would be ridiculous). You have come out richer in this estate, and he is only trying to take advantage of you--don't let him get away with it. His threats are improper if not illegal and you need to let your attorney know about that--your brother could be removed as executor later on down the line if necessary and his actions continue to be irreponsible or threatening.

Instead of sitting back and waiting (in vain) for your brother to furnish you with any information (which he doesn't seem to want to do), you need to get the ball rolling on your own and get the advice of an attorney to counsel you through this entire probate process.

Go to the library and check out 1-2 books that discuss irrevocable trusts, so you can educate yourself on what they are about.

Good luck to you, and it looks as things will turn out in your favor!

SINCERELY,

advisor
 

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