Category: Trust Administration

Can the Trustee Evict Me

If you are an occupant of a property owned by a trust, here is what you should know. The trustee is the legal owner of the trust property and may have the right to evict you, even if you are beneficiary. The first thing you should do is ask the trustee for a copy of […]

Mistreated Beneficiary

Are you entitled to an inheritance under a trust, but the person in charge is mistreating you? Here are some of the ways trustees mistreat beneficiaries: Refusing to provide information Unreasonably withholding distributions Ignoring communication with the beneficiaries Exercising favoritism Misappropriating trust assets Failing to comply with trust terms Self-dealing or stealing trust assets Living […]

Give Me Information

You Think you are Entitled to an Inheritance Under a Trust, but the Person in Charge Wont Hand it Over. Receiving an inheritance should be easy… right? If you have a good trustee, yes. If you have a bad trustee, obtaining your inheritance may involve some work. The first step is to ask the trustee […]

Are you entitled to a copy of your Mom’s or your Dad’s trust?  This question really comes in two variations. The first situation is one in which both Mom and Dad have passed away, and an older brother or sister is the trustee and refuses to provide you with a copy of the trust. Under […]

preliminary distributions of a trust

Let’s say that you just found out that you’re the beneficiary of a $3 million trust fund, and there are a total of three beneficiaries. Each beneficiary stands to receive $1 million dollars. That is an exciting day that doesn’t happen to many people. You wonder when you are going to receive the $1 million. […]

should a beneficiary idemnify a trustee

A trustee may ask a beneficiary to sign a piece of paper indemnifying the trustee prior to making a distribution of trust assets. First, let’s talk about what indemnification means? Indemnification is a legal term. It literally means that one person is going to pay for any loss or harm suffered by another person. What […]

buying property from a trust

There are times when a trustee is approached by one of the trust beneficiaries and the trust beneficiary says, “Hey, I really like the cabin in Big Bear. I’d like to buy the cabin in Big Bear. Can you sell it to me?” And the trustee’s response should be, “It depends on how other trust beneficiaries […]

don't amend what you can't amend

We encounter situations in which people amend trusts when they don’t have the ability to do so. It’s very important when you first get a trust to look at the amendment and revocation provisions of that trust. In the amendment provision, you’ll see how the settlors envisioned any amendments to the trust. In some cases, […]

wishing for early payout

Can I get my inheritance early? That depends…on how nice you are to your parents. Generally speaking, the only way to obtain your inheritance early is for a parent to give that to you before they pass. But there are times when a parent dies and their assets are held in Trust to benefit a […]

trust debt

Trustees occupy the office of Trustee. As Trustee, they must pay all debts of the Trust. More than that, Trustees often also have an obligation to pay debts of a decedent even if the debt is not officially against the Trust. Things like credit card bills taken out in a decedent’s individual name may still […]