Legal right to trust amount / accounting as sec. beneficary?
February 24, 2016 8:23 AM Subscribe
[YANAL] As a secondary beneficiary to a trust, do I have any right to see the original amount, current amount, and accounting information for a trust? Trust is held in PA, but I reside in MN.
US, trust is held in PA but I reside in MN - my great aunt passed away in 2006 and left two trusts to be distributed to her sister and nephew upon which either of their deaths, the yearly distributed amount would then be passed down to myself and a cousin.
I've recently been given all the information (death certificate, and will) and wanted to follow up on the remaining amount in the trust. However, when I called the local branch (where the trust is stored and distributed from) to follow up on the remaining amount, the person handling the trust refused to give any information. She stated that she was not authorized to provide any information and could not help in getting any more information on the state of this trust.
The reason I'm interested in following up is there have been complaints about her behavior (she's the trust agent) upon my aunt's passing (jewelry and clothes went missing upon estate inventory, general unprofessional / unhelpful attitude, etc., possible conflicts on interest) and overall a general lack of accounting on this trust which was rumored to be quite large. There is also some family and regional drama sprinkled in here that doesn't matter to this question but I want to make sure everything is on the up and up with this account.
My question - as a secondary beneficiary to the trust, do I have any rights to see the total amount in the trust and the accounting/distributions from it?
US, trust is held in PA but I reside in MN - my great aunt passed away in 2006 and left two trusts to be distributed to her sister and nephew upon which either of their deaths, the yearly distributed amount would then be passed down to myself and a cousin.
I've recently been given all the information (death certificate, and will) and wanted to follow up on the remaining amount in the trust. However, when I called the local branch (where the trust is stored and distributed from) to follow up on the remaining amount, the person handling the trust refused to give any information. She stated that she was not authorized to provide any information and could not help in getting any more information on the state of this trust.
The reason I'm interested in following up is there have been complaints about her behavior (she's the trust agent) upon my aunt's passing (jewelry and clothes went missing upon estate inventory, general unprofessional / unhelpful attitude, etc., possible conflicts on interest) and overall a general lack of accounting on this trust which was rumored to be quite large. There is also some family and regional drama sprinkled in here that doesn't matter to this question but I want to make sure everything is on the up and up with this account.
My question - as a secondary beneficiary to the trust, do I have any rights to see the total amount in the trust and the accounting/distributions from it?
Seconding that you really need to see an expert on this. There are general rules as to what certain classes beneficiaries are entitled to see, but there could be further provisions in the trust's governing document that could change things. There's really no way of knowing without seeing the trust documents. The upside to seeing an expert is they could further advise you as to what action you could take (if any) if you feel the trust assets are being mismanaged.
posted by triggerfinger at 10:55 AM on February 24, 2016
posted by triggerfinger at 10:55 AM on February 24, 2016
Can recommend Giltinan Law in Pittsburgh for estate law.
posted by bfranklin at 12:12 PM on February 24, 2016
posted by bfranklin at 12:12 PM on February 24, 2016
I agree with the need to consult a lawyer. This question presents in two stages:
1. What are your rights?
2. How can you make sure your rights, whatever they are, are enforced?
Knowing the answer to question 1, and paying no attention to 2, does not accomplish much.
posted by megatherium at 1:29 PM on February 24, 2016
1. What are your rights?
2. How can you make sure your rights, whatever they are, are enforced?
Knowing the answer to question 1, and paying no attention to 2, does not accomplish much.
posted by megatherium at 1:29 PM on February 24, 2016
If you're a UTC (uniform trust code) state, contingent beneficiaries are generally not required to get the trust agreement or other info as far as I know. The trustee probably has to respond to respond to "reasonable requests for information" from any beneficiary, current or contingent, but query what that means.
TINLA, IANYL. The PA UTC is here.
The trust may be in PA, but governing law may be different and the trust document may have provisions that differ from UTC default provisions. (Frankly, I don't remember whether contingent bennie info provisions can be overriden)
posted by jpe at 3:10 PM on February 24, 2016
TINLA, IANYL. The PA UTC is here.
The trust may be in PA, but governing law may be different and the trust document may have provisions that differ from UTC default provisions. (Frankly, I don't remember whether contingent bennie info provisions can be overriden)
posted by jpe at 3:10 PM on February 24, 2016
Sorry to post again, but why not just ask the current beneficiaries?
posted by jpe at 3:13 PM on February 24, 2016
posted by jpe at 3:13 PM on February 24, 2016
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by ferdydurke at 9:59 AM on February 24, 2016 [2 favorites]