Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in California
Trustee and Beneficiary Rights and Duties
Both my grandparents are alive, but determined incapacitated. My mother is
trustee of their estate and now has fiduciary responsibilty over all of their
affairs. She received a letter from the trust atty stating that the atty believes
the trust is now considered ''irrevocable''.
How does a trust go from revocable to irrevocable in Calif.? I thought that
one of my grandparents would have to pass away or the trust be considered
irrevocable at inception.
The atty's office also released a copy of the trust to my mentally ill uncle (who
collects SSI for his disability and who lived with my grandparents for more
than 30 yrs until we recently relocated them to an assisted living home and
out of his unsafe care) and he is telling my mother that she needs to release
all accounting records to him and is harassing her on a daily basis for
information regarding assets (he is beneficiary on the trust and is successor
trustee).
Because my grandparents are still alive, although both are incapacitated, and
my uncle is determined by the state as mentally ill, what are her duties as
trustee in providing documentation and records pertaining to assets to my
uncle at this time?
Thank you!
3 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Trustee and Beneficiary Rights and Duties
It is "irrevocable" in the sense that your grandparents no longer have the legal mental capacity to make changes to the trust on their own. The terms of the truste will usually specify what authority and duties the successor trustee has when the trustors are mentally incapacitated. At the present time, you mother's duty is to provide for your grandparents and I do not believe she owes any to respond to your uncle's requests for information. Nonetheless, your mother should consult the attorney regarding her duties, rights and responsibilities.
Re: Trustee and Beneficiary Rights and Duties
The trust becomes irrevocable upon the death of one of the original trustors (or at least a portion of it will).
Some trusts are written to allow a successor trustee to make amendments to the trust for limited purposes, so a review of the trust and possibly the power of attorney (if there is one) would be in order.
In any case, I do not believe that she has any duty to anyone other than the original trustors.
Re: Trustee and Beneficiary Rights and Duties
in a nutshell, you are correct in your legal assumptions regarding a trust. generally speaking, a trust is deemed irrevocable either at the time it is created by the trustor, or upon the death. the attorney who is "harassing" your mother appears to definitely be out of line, especially if he/she has not advised your mother to seek counsel first before signing over anything per se. you and/or your mother DEFINITELY should retain legal counsel here for review of the actual trust instrument itself, advise you of your rights thereafter, and/or deal "head to head" with this overly zealous attorney at issue BEFORE signing anything. if you would like our assistance, contact us today for peace of mind.
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