Living trust issue

[WatsonH]

What is the name of your state? California
my mother passed away and left us a trust with some money in it.
i have asked my sister if we are to make her the trustee, i only request that she have the insurance company or the attorney who was involved to send me a email or letter directly from them to me showing me the full amount and what was to be issued to each of us. although i already know what percent is to be issued from the whole amount because i was already shown the will from my mother before she passed.

my major concern is that every time i have asked for this my sister has detoured or changed the subject, victomised her self and so forth. all resolting in none of this information being sent to me. i tried to contact the attorney and he said she would have to call him and say its ok for him to speak to me. i have asked her to do this and she keeps creating detors telling me that he would have to travel very far to go to his office to see him in person in order for him to speak to me. i have asked her many times to just contact the insurance company or the attornys office and have them email me or send me a letter with this information and she has ignored these request and has only sent me screen shots.

i mentioned if i cant get her to do this i would have to pay for an attorny to get me this information. after i did this she threatened to cancel the bank account that the funds are being deposited in. (which she is also using as a personal bank account.)

all i want to know is how can i manage to get official paper work from either the attorney or the insurance company if she consistently refuses to do this for me. dont i as a benificiary have a right to see this information or maintain a copy of my own of this information?

i only want this directly from the attorney or the insurance company so i can properly calculate the money that is paid to me.

 

[Zigner]

The problem I see is that you may be asking for a very specific "thing" that is simply not available. If you are to receive a percentage of the "whole amount," then you are going to have to wait until the "whole amount" is figured out before anyone knows how much anyone will actually get.

You may find it more informative to ask for a couple of things (to which you are entitled). First, get a copy of the actual trust document. Second, get a current accounting of the trust. Once you have those documents, you will be in a better position to know what additional questions you need answered.

You also mentioned a will, but the will and the trust are separate documents. When there is a trust that has been properly set up, a will generally simply directs that all assets not held by the trust are to be transferred to the trust. This is known as a "pour-over will."

 

[WatsonH]

The problem I see is that you may be asking for a very specific "thing" that is simply not available. If you are to receive a percentage of the "whole amount," then you are going to have to wait until the "whole amount" is figured out before anyone knows how much anyone will actually get.

You may find it more informative to ask for a couple of things (to which you are entitled). First, get a copy of the actual trust document. Second, get a current accounting of the trust. Once you have those documents, you will be in a better position to know what additional questions you need answered.

You also mentioned a will, but the will and the trust are separate documents. When there is a trust that has been properly set up, a will generally simply directs that all assets not held by the trust are to be transferred to the trust. This is known as a "pour-over will."

so i guess to be more specific. my mom had a structured settlement. what was left after her passing was to be sent out to her 3 children and her grand son in a equal amount except for the grand son receiving 10% of the sum.
my sister has sent me screen shots showing the "whole amount" so this information is known. my only request was for the insurance company or the attorney who sent this information to my sister send me a email or a letter stating the same information that was disclosed in the screen shot.

but it seems every time i ask her for this she evades the request.

 

[WatsonH]

"First, get a copy of the actual trust document. Second, get a current accounting of the trust. Once you have those documents, you will be in a better position to know what additional questions you need answered."

so this is my dilemma i am asking for this but my sister is the only one who has the ability to get information from the insurance company or the attorney who handled the trust. so with her deflecting my request for this i am stuck. this is why i am making this post because i want to understand what i can do to get this. the more i request this information the more she becomes frustrated with me. dont i have a right to have a document of this information?

 

[Zigner]

You asked to know the amount in the account and you were given the information. I don't understand the problem there.

Why do you believe that the money in the account was supposed to be "sent out" after her passing? Was the account specifically set up in that manner? Was the account an asset of the trust? Was the amount transferred to the trust based on a pour-over will?

 

[Zigner]

"First, get a copy of the actual trust document. Second, get a current accounting of the trust. Once you have those documents, you will be in a better position to know what additional questions you need answered."

so this is my dilemma i am asking for this but my sister is the only one who has the ability to get information from the insurance company or the attorney who handled the trust. so with her deflecting my request for this i am stuck. this is why i am making this post because i want to understand what i can do to get this. the more i request this information the more she becomes frustrated with me. dont i have a right to have a document of this information?

You keep using the past tense when referring to the trust. Has the trust already been distributed? You asked for the total and she told you the total. I would get frustrated too. Ask for a copy of the trust and a current accounting.

 

[WatsonH]

the trust is currently being paid out.
so to make it a little more clear. i dont trust her and i want the information to be sent directly from the attorney or the insurance company to me. no middle man.

 

[Zigner]

the trust is currently being paid out.
so to make it a little more clear. i dont trust her and i want the information to be sent directly from the attorney or the insurance company to me. no middle man.

You aren't necessarily entitled to that information in the manner you want it.

 

[zddoodah]

my mother passed away and left us a trust with some money in it.

Just to clarify, you mean that, prior to her death, your mother created a trust of which you (along with whomever else is part of "us") are a beneficiary. Correct? And your sister is the trustee of that trust? How long ago did your mother die?

i have asked my sister if we are to make her the trustee, i only request that she have the insurance company or the attorney who was involved to send me a email or letter directly from them to me showing me the full amount and what was to be issued to each of us.

Huh?

Why do you think you (and whoever else is part of "we") have any say in who is the trustee? What insurance company are you referring to? What was this attorney's involvement? Did he represent your mother when she created the trust?

i was already shown the will from my mother before she passed.

Ok...but a will and a trust are different things. One would need to review both documents to determine how they work together. Also, just because you were shown a will before your mother died doesn't mean that will remained in effect at the time of her death.

i tried to contact the attorney and he said she would have to call him and say its ok for him to speak to me.

So...this attorney represents your sister? Is this the same attorney that you mentioned previously?

all i want to know is how can i manage to get official paper work from either the attorney or the insurance company if she consistently refuses to do this for me. dont i as a benificiary have a right to see this information or maintain a copy of my own of this information?

I don't know what information you're asking for exactly (or what "official paper work" means), but you have the following:

1. The right to a copy of the trust instrument.
2. The right to be kept "reasonably informed of the trust and its administration.
3. The right to an annual account (or more frequently upon order of the court).

my mom had a structured settlement.

Settlement of what?

i want the information to be sent directly from the attorney or the insurance company to me. no middle man.

The only person who owes you a duty is the trustee. The trustee's attorney owes you no duty; nor does any insurance company (other than an insurance company from whom you have purchased a policy).

 

[Taxing Matters]

i dont trust her and i want the information to be sent directly from the attorney or the insurance company to me. no middle man.

The attorney owe his/her client a duty of confidentiality, and the client here is the trustee. Therefore, the lawyer should not send you the information directly without first getting permission from the client. Otherwise, the attorney violates the rules of professional conduct for lawyers. Insurance companies are highly regulated, especially by the states. Customer privacy has been a big issue for all finance related services in the past two decades, including insurance. At the very least the insurance company is going to have a privacy policy and it's going to follow that policy to make sure its customer's data is not improperly disclosed to others. The person that has the duty to provide you information about the trust is the trustee. If you have something concrete that suggests the trustee isn't telling you the truth, then the remedy to find out what is really going on is to go to court and have a judge order the disclosure of whatever records are at issue.