Can a trustee refuses to distribute assets?
By failing to distribute trust assets, the trustee can conceal the mismanagement or wrongful taking of trust assets. As a beneficiary, if the trustee is not distributing your inheritance and not communicating with you as to why, it is essential that you take immediate action.
Can you refuse to be a trustee?
The trustee has a variety of responsibilities when acting as the legal fiduciary for the beneficiaries. But in some cases, a trustee may refuse to act. The first option you have is to file a petition with the probate court to force the trustee to act fairly based on agreed terms of the trust.
What happens when someone dies with a trust?
The successor trustee is charged with settling a trust, which usually means bringing it to termination. Once the trustor dies, the successor trustee takes over, looks at all of the assets in the trust, and begins distributing them in accordance with the trust. No court action is required.
How can a trustee do the wrong thing?
The trustee had some conversation or thinks they remember some conversation that they had some time ago with the person who created the trust. Their memory of that conversation is different from what the trust itself actually says. The trustee does the wrong thing and relies on their memory rather than the terms of the trust.
Why did the trustee not provide a copy of the trust?
During that period the trustee wrote me saying my client had gotten her full inheritance but he didn’t provide a copy of the trust. At the end of sixty days a petition to compel the trustee to provide a copy of the trust was filed. The trustee didn’t fight about having to provide a copy but he did fight having to pay for failing to do so earlier.
Can a trustee not distribute an inheritance to you?
You have seen the trust, you know who the trustee is, the trustee knows you, everybody knows the terms of the trust, and still the trustee will not distribute your inheritance to you. It may sound silly, even impossible, but this happens far more often than you may think.
Can a court remove a trustee from a trust?
The Trust document itself may provide a means to remove the trustee. Short such provisions, the court on its own motion or on the petition of a co-trustee or beneficiary, can seek removal of a trustee on the following grounds: (1) Where the trustee has committed a breach of trust.
What happens if a trustee refuses the appointment?
Refusing the appointment – a Trustee always has the option to refuse the initial appointment, which is why a Settlor should always discuss the appointment with the intended Trustee before making it in the trust agreement. Resigning the position – a Trustee also has the right to resign the position at any time after initially accepting it.
The trustee had some conversation or thinks they remember some conversation that they had some time ago with the person who created the trust. Their memory of that conversation is different from what the trust itself actually says. The trustee does the wrong thing and relies on their memory rather than the terms of the trust.
You have seen the trust, you know who the trustee is, the trustee knows you, everybody knows the terms of the trust, and still the trustee will not distribute your inheritance to you. It may sound silly, even impossible, but this happens far more often than you may think.
What happens if no successor is appointed to a trust?
If no successor was appointed, or if the appointed successor cannot serve, the trust terms may provide guidance. A settlor also has the ability to use the trust terms to provide instructions for choosing a replacement Trustee if necessary. If all else fails, the beneficiaries of the trust can petition a court to appoint a new Trustee.