Is an executor of an education fund autonomous in deciding if a recipient is worthy?

[Mike Hertz]

Hi, my son has a ROTH education fund that was set up by his deceased great grand father. His daughter ( my sons great aunt) is in charge of the fund and its disbursement.. She is denying my son funds because she feels he's not meeting her demands. Further, she claims she IS autonomous and it is her right to deny funds as she deems. This caused my son to have to quit college, and was evicted from the dorm for non payment for the present quarter. The catch is.. she had previously said she would continue to fund his education.. then, a week into the new quarter for reasons that are hers alone.. she changed her mind.
can she be sued for the distribution and for damages as well as the funds he should be entitled to under the fund.

 

[quincy]

Hi, my son has a ROTH education fund that was set up by his deceased great grand father. His daughter ( my sons great aunt) is in charge of the fund and its disbursement.. She is denying my son funds because she feels he's not meeting her demands. Further, she claims she IS autonomous and it is her right to deny funds as she deems. This caused my son to have to quit college, and was evicted from the dorm for non payment for the present quarter. The catch is.. she had previously said she would continue to fund his education.. then, a week into the new quarter for reasons that are hers alone.. she changed her mind.
can she be sued for the distribution and for damages as well as the funds he should be entitled to under the fund.

What is the name of your state?

 

[Mike Hertz]

my son lives and attends college in Washington st. she lives in New Mexico. the will and fund were set up in Ca. where his great grandfather lived until his passing.

 

[quincy]

my son lives and attends college in Washington st. she lives in New Mexico. the will and fund were set up in Ca. where his great grandfather lived until his passing.

Thanks for providing the state names.

Has your son asked for more than his qualified higher education expenses, perhaps?

 

[Mike Hertz]

any guidance is appreciated greatly..

 

[quincy]

any guidance is appreciated greatly..

What are the demands that have been made of your son?

What I am wondering is if your son applied disbursed funds properly, to cover his college costs.

 

[Mike Hertz]

Has your son asked for more than his qualified higher education expenses, perhaps?

No, his last quarter he made a stupid choice and she got angry ( so did I) But moving forward so long as he maintained a solid G P A ( he has) she assured the funds would continue.. However for reasons that she believes she doesn't have to explain. She feels its money wasted going forward until he matures.. and she denied funds A WEEK after the quarter started and he was attending classes. further this caused him to be evicted from the dorm and a debt of excess of 2K

 

[Mike Hertz]

Nick has to maintain a decent G P A HE HAS.. she was angry because hes paying out of state tuition costs, and his dorm fee is high. hes not asked for money for anything unrealistic. including REIMBURSEMENT of books. which as I understand has been complied with.
Further, as of mid april he is a legal resident of Washington for a year and his costs diminished for unit..

 

[quincy]

No, his last quarter he made a stupid choice and she got angry ( so did I) But moving forward so long as he maintained a solid G P A ( he has) she assured the funds would continue.. However for reasons that she believes she doesn't have to explain. She feels its money wasted going forward until he matures.. and she denied funds A WEEK after the quarter started and he was attending classes. further this caused him to be evicted from the dorm and a debt of excess of 2K

What was the "stupid choice?"

To determine if there is any legal action to consider, the reasons behind his great aunt's decision needs to be known.

She is only angry because he decided to attend an out of state school?

 

[Mike Hertz]

he flunked and dropped 1 class... we agreed the fund should NOT pay for his failures, but aside from the dropped and flunked class his g p a is in the 3.6 range.. the problem is this quarter.. she changed her mind after it started and left him to rot. a week AFTER the quarter started

 

[Mike Hertz]

that's just it... she told him and his mother.. SHE feels hes not mature enough at this time, so she denied the funding.. even though he was enrolled in full time status, and living on campus dorm

 

[Mike Hertz]

he did nothing WRONG that would suggest he should be denied.. NOW, she can say "well he dropped out" Of course he did.. he didn't want to incur debt he cant absorb as he only works one day a week with struggling homeless kids at a youth center. but now he owes in excess of 2K for the dorm that he doesn't have, so his chances of reinstatement until its paid are impossible.

 

[Mike Hertz]

what I want to know is. simply... what gives his great aunt such autonomous power to wreck a 20 year old kids future? and can she be sued for losses and damages and forced to reinstate the fund so long as he continues full time and maintains a respectable G P A

 

[LdiJ]

what I want to know is. simply... what gives his great aunt such autonomous power to wreck a 20 year old kids future? and can she be sued for losses and damages and forced to reinstate the fund so long as he continues full time and maintains a respectable G P A

What she did was definitely morally wrong and unfair to the student. However, I have no idea whether she was legally in the right to do that. Whether she actually has that authority. You are going to want to consult with an attorney to see if there is anything that can be done.

 

[Zigner]

It might also be wise to consult the trust.