Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Illinois

pertaining to Illinois trusts: if the trustee mortgages a house that is trust property, can they keep distributions of income from rent on said house that the trust document states should be paid out to the beneficiary, in order to use said income to pay mortgage payment,taxes and upkeep on the house?


Asked on 7/04/13, 2:20 pm

3 Answers from Attorneys

Sue Roberts-Kurpis, Esq. Law Office of Sue Roberts-Kurpis

It seems to me that you are confusing rents with income. Receipts, i.e., rent, is not income until the bills have been paid. If the bills don't get paid, you lose the house and with it any "income." The answer is Yes. The Trustee has a duty to preserve the Trust and that means using any "income" it produces to pay its bills so as to preserve the Principal.

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Answered on 7/04/13, 2:59 pm
Virginia Prihoda Law Offices of Virginia Prihoda

In the vocabulary of accounting, rental payments are "gross receipts" or "gross revenue". It's after necessary expenses have been paid that "net income" results. There's always a cost of doing business, and usually any contractual obligation to distribute earnings is focused on the distribution of net income. The word "income" presupposes some netting of gross earnings against expenses.

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Answered on 7/05/13, 11:11 am
Steve Raminiak Law Offices of Steve Raminiak, P.C.

Very likely, yes. I cannot imagine a situation where the Trustee would not be authorized to do so.

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Answered on 7/06/13, 9:07 am


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