Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in California
I was planning on taking my step sister to small claims court who happens to be the trustee in my fathers trust agreement. My dad placed me as the beneficiary on his checking account with my step sister as the trustee on the signature card
My step sister to date has failed to distribute any monies and my dad has been gone for 3 years. I spoke with the branch manager and he stated that those listed as beneficiary do not get monies straight away. He added that when a trustee is listed then funds are given to them. He said that my filing costs are nothing different than flushing the money down the drain. On the other side of this, the attorney that generated this agreement sent me a letter telling me to go get the money and close the account but I failed to act in time. Is the bank manager right? I have no recourse?
3 Answers from Attorneys
The probate court has exclusive jurisdiction over trust matters, so you will need to file something with the probate court and not small claims.
Regardless of the issue with who is entitled to the account, if there are other assets in the trust, you do have a right to a copy of the trust and if you are a beneficiary, an accounting of the trust. You should demand an accounting in writing from the trustee and if she does not provide one in 60 days, then you can file a petition with the probate court to compel an accounting and possibly a distribution.
Even if the bank account is the only asset, you should send a demand letter to your step-sister that she must give you an accounting of the entire assets and debts of the trust, what happened to any of the money not still there, etc. It does cost $395 to file in Probate court but you can ask the court to order the trust to reimburse you or the trustee if you are the only beneficiary under the trust. You might be able to find an attorney who is willing to do this, in order to add more pressure to your step sister, but you need to find someone who does not charge much as otherwise the attorney fees may be too high compared to the amount you can get from the Trust. Look at the Nolo Press books at trust -- should be in your local library.
Small claims does not hear probate matters.
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