How do you hire an attorney when you need help dealing with a bad Trustee? Trustees have access to all the Trust resources, while beneficiaries do not. As a beneficiary, you cannot withdraw money from a Trust bank account to pay for legal services. So what are you to do? You have two choices: (1) […]
In this episode, we’re discussing the phases of litigation. We’re going to walk you through your trust contest case from beginning to end. One of the things that you need to understand is the different phases that every legal case takes when it works through our judicial process. Six Phases of Your Trust Contest Lawsuit […]
There’s a lot beneficiaries can do to set things right, but it’s not as easy as you may think. Often beneficiaries will say “isn’t the Trustee breaking the law?” The answer is yes, but who is going to stand up and hold the Trustee responsible for breaking his or her duties as a Trustee? The […]
Did you realize that when you are given a gift under a Trust it comes with a string attached? Not just a little string either, but a big, giant rope tied securely around it. That rope is your Trustee. It can be a lifeline, or it can be noose. It all depends on the Trustee. […]
Welcome. I have to share some horror stories. Today, we’re talking about every beneficiary’s worst nightmare. That is dealing with a trustee who refuses to do the right thing. Trustee not paying beneficiaries A trustee can refuse to pay a beneficiary if the trust allows them to do so. They may be able to pursue a lawsuit […]
If you look at a Trust document created by a husband and wife, you will often see there are various sub-Trusts created after the first spouse dies. The purpose of these sub-Trusts is to divide up the assets, sometimes for tax purposes and sometimes for protection purposes. For example, when families have children from different […]
In our latest post on Trust uses and abuses, we are back discussing The Have’s. These are people named in a Trust document receive a gift, but who can’t seem to get it. Many Have’s know they are entitled to a portion of the Trust because they are named in the document. They are either […]
If you have been disinherited from a Trust, meaning you were named to receive a gift and then a new document removed you from the Trust, you are a “Have Not.” Have Not’s are typically children who were part of a long-standing Trust until either an amendment or a new Trust came along excluding them […]
The Have’s are the people named in a Trust document to receive a gift of some type, but they are not receiving it because they are facing a bad Trustee who is not treating the beneficiaries equally, not making required distributions, not giving you information, and using the trust money to hire lawyers to defend […]
Let’s start with the uses of Trusts before we tear them apart discussing the abuses in this series. A trust is a legal fiction. Much like corporations, a Trust is viewed through the eyes of the law as a separate, independent legal creation. But unlike corporations, Trusts can only act through the Trustee. Process of […]
