Questions about Bank trustee behavior in administering our trust.

[OSV]

What is the name of your state? MO

This is a special needs trust, administered by a bank since 1997. Mom set it up for my older brother, with her money and house as assets. The latest diagnosis of my brother was that he's autistic; never had a job, never had a girlfriend, never married, attended Special Ed classes only, can't live alone, although he does have a drivers license. Doctors put him on daily doses of Ritalin and some other drug well before he hit puberty, but afaik he's been off of it all for years now.

The bank no longer wants to administer the trust, and I think that they are effectively claiming that my brother is competent(see below), in order to get what they want.

Mom died several years ago. Last year the bank recommended a lawyer to me, to supposedly assist in the Successor Trustee transfer, but after spending $1799 all I got out of it was a notarized ACCEPTANCE OF TRUST BY SUCCESSOR TRUSTEE document. The lawyer stated that the bank can't disperse any trust assets, it's all in limbo, we can't use the cash in the trust to help my brother, unless we sign the bank release of liability documents. How is it legal for a bank trustee to do that? Has the bank has effectively resigned as trustee?

The bank also tried to get my handicapped brother to sign an Appointment of Trustee document(via the lawyer I hired), wherein he agreed that I would be the Trustee, but my younger sister talked him out of it because she wants control of the assets(old house & $35k in cash). She tells him what to do, they live together in the family house.

Yesterday the bank stated that they wanted to make my younger sister co-trustee with me, which won't work, and it doesn't address my brothers competence.

Any insights would be appreciated.

 

[Zigner]

Frankly, there is no way that we, uninvolved strangers, would have any better insight than the attorney you hired who is familiar with all of the facts of the matter. If you don't understand what or why the attorney is telling you certain things, ask for an explanation. If you don't get a satisfactory explanation, it might be time to find a different attorney.

I wish you the best of luck.

 

[OSV]

i posted questions that anyone can express an opinion on, for instance:

- is it legal for a trustee in this situation to block all access to trust funds

- what is the criteria and procedure for determining mental competency in a special needs trust

- is a notarized ACCEPTANCE OF TRUST BY SUCCESSOR TRUSTEE document valid grounds for a trustee to resign?

etc.

 

[Zigner]

i posted questions that anyone can express an opinion on, for instance:

- is it legal for a trustee in this situation to block all access to trust funds

It depends.

- what is the criteria and procedure for determining mental competency in a special needs trust

It depends.

- is a notarized ACCEPTANCE OF TRUST BY SUCCESSOR TRUSTEE document valid grounds for a trustee to resign?

It depends.

etc.

It depends.

Better?


ETA: Your matter requires personalized assistance that you simply can't get from an online forum.

 

[OSV]

Better?

it's certainly good enough to earn you top billing in my ignore filter.

 

[Zigner]

It's unfortunate that this OP doesn't really want help.

 

[quincy]

i posted questions that anyone can express an opinion …

Opinions from strangers on an Internet forum are not going to be of more value to you than the opinion of an attorney in your area who you hire to personally review all facts and advise you accordingly.

- is it legal for a trustee in this situation to block all access to trust funds …

Possibly. It depends.

- what is the criteria and procedure for determining mental competency in a special needs trust …

It depends.

- is a notarized ACCEPTANCE OF TRUST BY SUCCESSOR TRUSTEE document valid grounds for a trustee to resign? …

Possibly.

 

[Zigner]

Opinions from strangers on an Internet forum are not going to be of more value to you than the opinion of an attorney in your area who you hire to personally review all facts and advise you accordingly.

Possibly. It depends.

It depends.

Possibly.

Sorry, Quincy. There can only be one at the top of the ignore filter.

 

[quincy]

Sorry, Quincy. There can only be one at the top of the ignore filter.

Rats.

 

[zddoodah]

I think that they are effectively claiming that my brother is competent(see below), in order to get what they want.

And what would that be? Why does your brother being competent get the bank what it wants?

Last year the bank recommended a lawyer to me, to supposedly assist in the Successor Trustee transfer, but after spending $1799 all I got out of it was a notarized ACCEPTANCE OF TRUST BY SUCCESSOR TRUSTEE document.

What does that document say? Are you the successor trustee?

The lawyer stated that the bank can't disperse any trust assets, it's all in limbo, we can't use the cash in the trust to help my brother, unless we sign the bank release of liability documents. How is it legal for a bank trustee to do that?

No one on the internet can opine intelligently about this question. None of us have seen the trust instrument. None of us have read the acceptance document to which you referred. None of us know anything about the trust assets. All that being said, who are "we," and is there an issue with respect to releasing the bank from liability?

Has the bank has effectively resigned as trustee?

You tell us.

The bank also tried to get my handicapped brother to sign an Appointment of Trustee document(via the lawyer I hired), wherein he agreed that I would be the Trustee, but my younger sister talked him out of it because she wants control of the assets(old house & $35k in cash). She tells him what to do, they live together in the family house.

This is quite meaningless without knowing what the trust instrument says about what happens if/when the bank trustee resigns.

the bank stated that they wanted to make my younger sister co-trustee with me, which won't work

Why not?

i posted questions that anyone can express an opinion on

That's certainly true, but keep the following in mind: AFAIK, no one on these boards is a Missouri attorney; not everyone who responds here is an attorney; (again) no one here has reviewed the relevant documentation.

 

[quincy]

… AFAIK, no one on these boards is a Missouri attorney; not everyone who responds here is an attorney; (again) no one here has reviewed the relevant documentation.

We have a forum member who is a Missouri attorney (“TigerD”). I have a feeling his response would not be all that different from Zigner’s or my response - and then there would be a fierce competition for “top of the ignore filter.”

 

[OSV]

And what would that be? Why does your brother being competent get the bank what it wants?

among other things, if he's declared incompetent his signature isn't valid on some(all?) of the relevant documents that the bank is requesting his signature on.

i think that they have some degree of liability that i don't know about... as my former lawyer put it "i can see why they want those signed liability releases".

the "competent descendant" thing appears to be some sort of landmine for the bank, it's not entirely clear why.

Are you the successor trustee?

given that i can't access any of the trust assets, i can't definitively say; since you asked what the document says:

"APPOINTMENT OF SUCCESSOR TRUSTEE
This Appointment of Successor Trustee is executed by ..., the eldest living and competent descendant of ..., and shall be effective as of the date ... COMPANY resigns its role as Successor Trustee in writing.
WHEREAS, ARTICLE XIV, Paragraph C of the .. Trust, originally dated July 25, 1997, as amended and restated (the “Trust”), states that upon the removal or resignation of a Trustee, if no further Successor Trustee is named, the eldest then living and competent descendant of ... may appoint an individual, corporation, or other entity a Successor Trustee.
NOW THEREFORE, Pursuant to ARTICLE XIV, Paragraph C, the undersigned hereby appoints ... as Successor Trustee of the Trust, effective as of the date ... COMPANY resigns its role as Successor Trustee in writing."

No one on the internet can opine intelligently about this question. None of us have seen the trust instrument. None of us have read the acceptance document to which you referred. None of us know anything about the trust assets. All that being said, who are "we," and is there an issue with respect to releasing the bank from liability?

i dumbed it down to three rather generic questions that are not specific to any state nor any specific version of the document; anyone who has knowledge of their state could answer in that respect... the collective intelligence seems to be limited to "call a lawyer", lol

i previously posted "old house & $35k in cash", the trust assets are known.

You tell us.

and how would i do that?

This is quite meaningless without knowing what the trust instrument says about what happens if/when the bank trustee resigns."

see above.

Why not?

among other things, if we were co-trustees and my brother passed away we'd both own the house that she lives in, and she would not agree to selling it nor buying my share out, because she already has use of it for free.

the bank trust rep couldn't suggest any document that would fix that.

no one here has reviewed the relevant documentation.

no one bothered asking, until you came along.

thanks, i appreciate that, it's good to see an adult in the room.

 

[Zigner]

To be clear, demanding answers after being told several times that you need a personal review isn't a useful tactic.

 

[quincy]

What zzdoodah failed to mention is that no one on this forum can analyze documents for posters. That goes beyond the scope of this forum and violates not only the rules of this forum but also the professional and ethical rules of the attorneys who post here.

You should discuss with an attorney, licensed to practice in your own jurisdiction, all of your concerns about how the trust is being handled. The attorney you hire can personally advise you on this matter.

Good luck.

 

[zddoodah]

i dumbed it down to three rather generic questions that are not specific to any state nor any specific version of the document; anyone who has knowledge of their state could answer in that respect...

OK...

is it legal for a trustee in this situation to block all access to trust funds

It's unclear what "this situation" means. Block whose access? Generally speaking, the trustee controls the trust assets, subject to the terms of the trust instrument. Therefore, whether it is legal depends on what "this situation" means and on the terms of the trust instrument.

what is the criteria and procedure for determining mental competency in a special needs trust

It's no different than any other mental competency determination.

is a notarized ACCEPTANCE OF TRUST BY SUCCESSOR TRUSTEE document valid grounds for a trustee to resign?

A trustee doesn't need "grounds" to resign.

As you were told both here and on Reddit, you need to have a lawyer look at the documents and provide recommendations.