Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Oregon
Breach of trust by personal representative
My father passed away and left an estate of $80,000 with no personal property or assets. In his will he listed my brother as personal representative and also had
a trust listing me as trustee. He never actually put his money in the trust. He died in Oregon and my brother's attorney put the money in an account, which he
explained would then be transferred to a trust to be distributed by me. Today I
found out that my brother asked the bank to print him checks and he has spent
$54,000 out of the account already. His attorney asked me to wait a few days to
see if he can get my brother to return at least my half. I'm afraid that my brother is simply going to take the rest of the money. I'm in California and my brother is in Everett, Washington. I'm in college and have very little money. I
have no idea what to do at this point and any help would be greatly appreciated.
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Breach of trust by personal representative
It sounds like your father had a pourover will, naming your brother as the executor, and the will passes assets to the trust, that you are trustee of. It also appears that your brother has misappropriated the estate assets, which is a breach of his fiduciary duties. Since your father resided in Oregon, the probate of his estate would be governed by Oregon law. In CA, I would make a written request for an accounting, and if he does not provide it, you bring a petition to compel accounting in the probate court. If or when he provides the accounting and if you believe the funds were misappropriated, you object to the accounting and file a petition to surcharge him. Oregon should have comparable law. Hopefully, he will respond to his attorney's request for him to return the money.
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