Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in California

in June 2009 when my brother died 5 of my 7 my children were left an annual inheritance for the next 20 years of $10,000. Just recently my brother's trustee/Attorney sent them a letter releasing him (trustee) of any responsibility if he should lose their money due to bad investments. I told them not to sign it. This same attorney tried to bribe me by offering me $1000 if I would sign a release not to sue him. Of course i did not sign it after the 120 days to contest was up. If i had the money I would sue him on criminal charges of which there are many including drawing up a new will/trust after my brother was diagnosed with Alzheimer's.

Back to the question. Can my children lose their inheritance if they do not sign the release?


Asked on 12/21/10, 8:59 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
George Shers Law Offices of Georges H. Shers

One must always look at the exact language of the document in issue. Without doing that, if the language merely says a party loses their benefits if they contest the Trust, a refusal to agree to something that benefits the trustee only abut not the Trust clealy is not contesting the Trust. Contesting it means to take an affirmative act [not responding to something done by the trustee] to change or eliminate the Trust.

Has the attorney taken out a bond to cover his illegally taking any money from the trust? If the Trust waived the bond he does not have to take it out. The fact that he wants everyone to agree not to act if he makes bad investments implies that he has already lost a substantial sum of money. Some of the beneficiaries must immediately write him demanding a current accounting and then visit him in his Office to find out what the status of the Trust funds is. If you want to remove the Trustee you have to go to court to have the substitute trustee appointed if you can not work out a deal with the current one. It sounds as though he should be removed. Try to get all the beneficiaries to agree to a common action but they should not wait to act.

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Answered on 12/26/10, 9:19 am


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