Will

[aconcernedson]

My Mom pasted away in January.She left a Will making my sister the Executer of her estate instead of my Dad.
She also had a Transfer on Death on some stock shares she had purchase while married to my Dad. My Dad never authorized any transfer of shares to my sister and aways paid taxes jointly on the dividends with my Mom. Isn't my Dad legally entitled to the shares instead of my sister?

aconcernedson

 

[dee_dub]

He might be, but he'll have to fight for it. The shares were owned by your mom, not your dad. On the face of it, she's allowed to transfer the shares as she chooses; he has no say in the matter. In the circumstances - him paying a share of the taxes on the dividenc - MAYBE he has acquired some beneficial interest in a portion of the shares. If your sister does not agree, only a court can sort that out.

 

[aconcernedson]

My Mom's will has my niece and my daughter spliting the shares when they turn 21 years old, but my sister has directed the share company to deposit the dividends into her account instead of reinvesting it back into their stock> Is that legal. Please be advise that I am th alternate Exdecutor of my Mom's will.My siter and I are nort in speaking terms since my Mom's death.My Dad and I feel betrayed.

 

[dee_dub]

I'm getting mixed signals here.

1) Your mom's will says the shares are to be split between the niece and daughter when they turn 21.

2) Your mom had a Transfer on Death on those same shares to your sister.

Is that correct? If so, these purport to deal with the shares in conflicting ways. The Transfer On Death likely takes precedence, so the shares should be transferred under its terms to your sister. The provision in the will dealing with the shares is inoperative since the shares do not form part of the estate.

In which case, the shares probably belong to your sister, and she is within her rights to deposit the dividends into her account.

 

[aconcernedson]

What steps can I take to pursue this matter further.
1.My parents were married 40 yrs.My father paid taxes for these stocks. these stocks were purchased while my parents were married. one year before my Mom pasted on my sister brain washes my mom to redue her will excluding my father and transfered the shares to her name without my fathers consent.
Let's say for example my father doesn't have a case,my mom's new will still states that the shares should be divided equally between her 2 grand daughters at the age of 21.Nowhere does it state that my sister is entitled to recieve the dividends deposited to her savings account. Half of thosre shares belong to my daughter.She can go ahead and steal from her own daughters money ,but not mine.I believe all this is faud played to the best of my sister's ability.Please advise

 

[dee_dub]

A couple things come to mind.

First, your father could claim he has some beneficial interest in the stocks. He paid taxes on them, they may have been purchased using family assets, maybe a court would think it appropriate to apportion some of them to him. So your dad could sue your sister for some of the stocks, or a declaration that she holds some of the stocks in trust for him.

Second, the beneficiaries (or people who might reasonably expected to have been beneficiaries) could apply to have the Transfer on Death declared void. I am not exactly clear on how they would do this or what their prospects of success are - I suspect that, since the TOD is a testamentary instrument, it could be challenged on grounds similar to a will, e.g. on the grounds that your sister unduly influenced your mother and/or that she was not of sound mind.

my mom's new will still states that the shares should be divided equally between her 2 grand daughters at the age of 21. Nowhere does it state that my sister is entitled to recieve the dividends deposited to her savings account.

Yes, but as mentioned in a previous post, that part of the will is only effective if the shares actually form part of the estate. You're correct that your sister isn't entitled under the will to deposit dividends from the shares into her own account. She is entitled to those dividends because, under the TOD the shares are hers. You would need to have the TOD declared void in order for the division of shares in the will to take effect.