zddoodah
Well-Known Member
- Jurisdiction
- Maryland
My mother was diagnosed as mentally ill and coerced into creating a will that put 40% of my inheritance into a trust and 60% was given to me as cash.
I assume that you did not challenge the will following your mother's death such that the coercion allegation is effectively meaningless at this time.
the bottom line is the trustee is refusing to honor the will
At this point - six years after your mother's death - the will is irrelevant (unless the trust of which this person is trustee is a testamentary trust (i.e., one that was created by the will).
the estate attorney is of no help with.
What does "the estate attorney" mean? After six years, I assume the estate is long since closed. Right? In any event, unless "the estate attorney" was your attorney, he has no obligation to you.
Do I have any options here? And what are they?
You'll need to retain an attorney to review the trust instrument (or the will) and advise you. No one who hasn't read the trust (or will) can provide any sort of informed guidance.
What does the WILL have to do with anything at this point? The TRUST is the thing you are concerned with.
I am not an attorney and do not understand the difference. I am shocked that a trustee could just ignore the document.
A will is a document that one might prepare to direct the disposition of one's probate estate. "Probate estate" means all of one's assets except: (1) assets held jointly with someone else with the right of survivorship; (2) assets that have a pay- or transfer-on-death provision (e.g., bank and investment accounts); and (3) assets held in trust. Many people have only a will. Many people have both a will and a trust. Sometimes, folks will use their will to create a trust. As "Zigner" noted, the trustee is obligated to follow the terms of the trust instrument (which you said you have read). If there is a separate will and trust, then the will is almost certainly irrelevant at this point. However, as I indicated, if this is a testamentary trust (i.e., a trust created by the will), then the terms of the will are still relevant because the will is, effectively, the trust instrument.
The trustee is an accountant who was a neighbor of my family growing up.
So...what does all the stuff about your sister have to do with anything?