Formal accountings can take up a lot of your time. When we say “formal accounting” we are referring to a Trust accounting that is prepared according to the format rules of the Probate Code (section 1060) and filed with the court to court approval. Why do formal accountings take so long to resolve? First, it […]
Sometimes Trustees refuse to provide beneficiaries with financial information. We can help. Before you demand a formal accounting in court, you may want to try requesting an accounting informally. You can use our ACCOUNTING DEMAND TEMPLATE and view the video instructions below. If you send an accounting demand letter and the Trustee still refuses to […]
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 […]
You have been named as a beneficiary of a Trust, but unfortunately your share of the Trust is not going to be given to you outright. Instead, it must remain locked away in an irrevocable Trust for some time. Some irrevocable Trusts last for several years, or until you reach a certain age, or for […]
Beneficiaries are supposed to receive reasonable information and timely distributions of their share of the Trust money and property. Unfortunately, many beneficiaries are kept in the dark and receive no Trust distributions. In other words, they receive no money and no information. It can be hard to know what to do when you are kept […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Marital rights involving gifts of trust assets or gifts of marital assets can get a bit tricky. California is a community property state. By definition, anything you acquire during your marriage – meaning if you and your spouse buy a house— the presumption is that that house is community property. Each spouse has the right […]
