Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Montana
trust laws
My Grandmother recently died. She had a trust set up to which my aunt is trustee. It was originally set up in February, 1997. In 1999 my Aunt had a schedule A attached to the trust but prior to adding the spendthrift clause (that was the only change) she withdrew $200,000. She said she ''needed to be able to provide for '' herself in her old age. She has also been withdrawing over $1200 per month for rent since my Grandmother was staying in her home. For the past 3 years though my Grandmother has had around the clock hospice worker care. Are those legal withdrawals according to Montana laws?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: trust laws
Depending upon the language of the trust and other facts, there may have been a breach of fiduciary duty to the "beneficiaries" of the trust.
Re: trust laws
You will need to check with an attorney who knows Montana law but you need to supply more information. What does the Trust documents say as to the distribution of its funds? A Trustee can not violate the rules established by the Trust nor add anything to the Trust that it does not state can be added at the Trustee's discretion. Who is the beneficiary of the Trust? If you are, you need to act quickly as since you have known of the violations for some time, she will raise the argument that you did not act timely. It certainly sounds as though enough money is involved to justify the costs of getting an attorney. You probably want someone in Montana who can also advise you as to the need to probate your grandmother's estate and whether any of the Trust property was not properly placed into it and should be in the estate instead. There also may be some tax problems. So it could be a fairly complicated case; you will need to interview potential legal representatives carefully.
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