Yes and no. Pre-death accountings refer to an accounting for the period before your parent died. If there was a Trustee other than your parent, you may be able to obtain an accounting of their activity prior to a parent’s death. But getting a pre-death accounting is not absolute. The problem is that while your […]
Yes, but the money must stay in the trust. This happens quite often with Bypass Trusts and Marital Trusts. A surviving spouse is named as the Trustee, but the Trusts themselves are irrevocable. They cannot be amended or changed, but they can be administered by the Trustee. Nearly every Trustee has the right to sell […]
Bad Trustees can make your life a nightmare. When you are the beneficiary of a Trust, you really want a competent Trustee. They don’t have to be the best necessarily, but they do need to be competent, at least. The problem is that parents, the people who create Trusts, often choose the wrong person to […]
Probate court is not just for probating a Will. In California, the Probate Court generally oversees probate administration cases (that’s where you either have a Will or have an estate with no Will), Trust cases, conservatorships, and guardianships. Probate court does more than that, but those are the big four areas Probate Court handles. Why […]
When your parents create a revocable Trust, they don’t have to tell you about it. And if they change the Trust terms to either give you more or less, they don’t have to tell you that either. Often people will find out about a change to their parent’s Trust after the parent passes and ask, […]
When a bad actor intervenes in your parent’s life to orchestrate a change in their estate plans—a change your parents didn’t want—we call that inheritance theft. It is the fastest growing area of theft among elders. And it often happens when you least expect it. It can be hard to detect and even harder to […]
Who makes decisions over your Trust assets? If you are the beneficiary of a Trust, you may be surprised to learn that the Trustee is the person, the only person, who decides what to do with your Trust assets. Whether it is buying, selling, paying, or bartering, the Trustee calls the shots. That’s just how […]
Can a Trustee refuse to sell a house owned by the Trust? Typically, the answer is no. But it depends on the circumstances of your Trust. Here is the most common scenario: You are a beneficiary of a Trust. There are two or more other beneficiaries. The Trust requires that all Trust assets be distribution […]
Trustee abuse can occur in irrevocable Trusts. It is fairly easy to tell. For example, if you are entitled to receive money from a Trust for your health, educations, maintenance, and support, then you should be receiving something from the Trust. Everyone has some amount of maintenance and support requirements. Rent, car payments, health insurance […]
Some Trustees need to be trained. Especially individual Trustees who may have no experience acting as a Trustee before. Many people mistakenly believe that a Trustee steps into the shoes of the Trust creator and as such the Trustee can do “whatever” they want. Not trust. Under Probate Code section 16000, every Trustee must follow […]
