Cal Family Trust Administration

[PUROAZUSA13]

I am a beneficiary and also a Co-Successor Trustee of a Revocable Trust. The Grantors have passed away. Question: Is the attorney who drew up the Trust, responsible for its administration? Does that attorney work for the beneficiaries? What is that attorneys responsibilities going forward?
Thank you

 

[adjusterjack]

: Is the attorney who drew up the Trust, responsible for its administration?

Not unless he was named trustee of the trust or otherwise designated.

Does that attorney work for the beneficiaries?

No. He works for the trustee.

What is that attorneys responsibilities going forward?

What the trustee hires him to do, unless he was otherwise designated in the trust.

I am a beneficiary and also a Co-Successor Trustee of a Revocable Trust.

Then you should have the trust documents in your hand and read them.

Understand that the attorney was paid to draw up the trust. He has no further obligation to the trust until he is once again paid to perform services for the trustee.

What is happening to YOU that gives rise to these questions?

 

[PUROAZUSA13]

Not unless he was named trustee of the trust or otherwise designated.



No. He works for the trustee.



What the trustee hires him to do, unless he was otherwise designated in the trust.



Then you should have the trust documents in your hand and read them.

Understand that the attorney was paid to draw up the trust. He has no further obligation to the trust until he is once again paid to perform services for the trustee.

What is happening to YOU that gives rise to these questions?

I am estranged from the other Successoe Co-Trustees (my sibs), and they have excluded me from all family doings. I can't trust them to do what our parents wished for. Just because they don'tapprove of my relationship with my BF., anyhow, I" m unsure how I should proceed, as far as the Family trust is concerned. I figure I just need to consult with an estate attorney.

 

[adjusterjack]

You might remind your sibs that if they don't cooperate with you, and you have to litigate, the lawyers' fees will eat up a large chunk of the estate.

 

[zddoodah]

I am a beneficiary and also a Co-Successor Trustee of a Revocable Trust. The Grantors have passed away.

So...you're no longer a successor trustee. You're a co-trustee. What was your relationship to the deceased grantors? Sounds like they were your parents. Yes?

Is the attorney who drew up the Trust, responsible for its administration?

The trustee(s) of the trust are responsible for its administration. The attorney who drew up the trust could be a trustee, but that isn't common.

Does that attorney work for the beneficiaries?

No. The attorney who drafts the trust instrument is hired by the grantor(s) (not the trustee, as the first response indicated, although the trustee could, in theory, hire that attorney to represent the trustee in the administration of the trust).

What is that attorneys responsibilities going forward?

Generally, once the attorney has completed the drafting of the trust, his/her job is done, but that can be altered on a case-by-case basis.

I am estranged from the other Successoe Co-Trustees (my sibs)

Then it was a poor decision by your parents to designate you all as co-trustees.

I" m unsure how I should proceed, as far as the Family trust is concerned. I figure I just need to consult with an estate attorney.

Yup.

 

[PUROAZUSA13]

You might remind your sibs that if they don't cooperate with you, and you have to litigate, the lawyers' fees will eat up a large chunk of the estate.

Yes, the Grantors were my parents.