- Jurisdiction
- California
Don't think that a Trust will guarantee smooth sailing of asset distribution upon death...
Mom had an irrevocable trust drawn up with her home (our childhood home) as the only asset. There were no debts. The beneficiaries were/are her two children with the eldest as the Trustee. She passed in 2014 when an attorney was retained by the Trustee. I attended the very bizarre initial meeting. That day, I advised Trustee to seek counsel elsewhere, and handed her a list of 9-10 other attorneys. I also phoned the attorney's office and informed them we would be seeking other counsel.
Lo and behold, this attorney phoned the bereaving and vulnerable Trustee and persuaded her to come and sign the retainer. A mutual friend overheard the conversation and told me that the lawyer was playing the "religion card."
Fast forward to 2015 where the home was listed by the attorney's RE contact and sold for a little over $2mil. Subsequently, I contacted the attorney's office several times (including certified mail) for an update where I received no replies. Three and six months later, I again contacted, without any replies. Whenever I contacted the Trustee, they would say, "Talk to the attorney..."
I eventually received a brief email reply saying that "everything takes time, blah blah blah..."
Fast forward to 2019, I contacted the attorney's office via email and certified mail asking for an update and a copy of the Trust Accounting. I sent two more certified letters. The third one threatened legal recourse. I received a reply, and three months later, I finally received the Trust Accounting with a form for me to sign for release within ten days. I examined the document and said, "Not so fast!"
Listed in the accounting: Attorney's fees were $139,000? There was a short-term loan originated on Trust assets (by the Trustee) in the amount of $300,000 which cost the Trust $65,000 in fees and expenses. I lived on the property while cleaning up and disposing 50 years of accumulated items, doing repairs, etc. There was rent charged to me for $35,000.
I had several attorneys examine and ended up retaining a reputable firm who, among other things, asked the said attorney to provide records, giving extensions of time, but it never happened. We were forced to file 'Objections to the Trust Accounting.'
Here we are in mid 2023 and this has still not been resolved. In fact, Trustee's new counsel, has billed the Trust an additional $110,000 since our filing in 2019. We also discovered that what's left of this chunk of change has been sitting doing NOTHING all these years, through the greatest bull-market in history!
Oh and another little (actually BIG) added note, to this day, I've spent going-on $78,000 OUT OF POCKET in fees on this case since 2019.
Any thoughts and insights are very much welcomed.
Thanks for reading!
Mom had an irrevocable trust drawn up with her home (our childhood home) as the only asset. There were no debts. The beneficiaries were/are her two children with the eldest as the Trustee. She passed in 2014 when an attorney was retained by the Trustee. I attended the very bizarre initial meeting. That day, I advised Trustee to seek counsel elsewhere, and handed her a list of 9-10 other attorneys. I also phoned the attorney's office and informed them we would be seeking other counsel.
Lo and behold, this attorney phoned the bereaving and vulnerable Trustee and persuaded her to come and sign the retainer. A mutual friend overheard the conversation and told me that the lawyer was playing the "religion card."
Fast forward to 2015 where the home was listed by the attorney's RE contact and sold for a little over $2mil. Subsequently, I contacted the attorney's office several times (including certified mail) for an update where I received no replies. Three and six months later, I again contacted, without any replies. Whenever I contacted the Trustee, they would say, "Talk to the attorney..."
I eventually received a brief email reply saying that "everything takes time, blah blah blah..."
Fast forward to 2019, I contacted the attorney's office via email and certified mail asking for an update and a copy of the Trust Accounting. I sent two more certified letters. The third one threatened legal recourse. I received a reply, and three months later, I finally received the Trust Accounting with a form for me to sign for release within ten days. I examined the document and said, "Not so fast!"
Listed in the accounting: Attorney's fees were $139,000? There was a short-term loan originated on Trust assets (by the Trustee) in the amount of $300,000 which cost the Trust $65,000 in fees and expenses. I lived on the property while cleaning up and disposing 50 years of accumulated items, doing repairs, etc. There was rent charged to me for $35,000.
I had several attorneys examine and ended up retaining a reputable firm who, among other things, asked the said attorney to provide records, giving extensions of time, but it never happened. We were forced to file 'Objections to the Trust Accounting.'
Here we are in mid 2023 and this has still not been resolved. In fact, Trustee's new counsel, has billed the Trust an additional $110,000 since our filing in 2019. We also discovered that what's left of this chunk of change has been sitting doing NOTHING all these years, through the greatest bull-market in history!
Oh and another little (actually BIG) added note, to this day, I've spent going-on $78,000 OUT OF POCKET in fees on this case since 2019.
Any thoughts and insights are very much welcomed.
Thanks for reading!
