Does the beneficiary of a trust have the right to request a copy of the trust after the death of the trust or?
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Does the beneficiary of a trust have the right to request a copy of the trust after the death of the trust or?
I am the beneficiary of my aunt’s trust.
The acting trustee has been cleaning up
the house and storage areas for over a
year. She had been answering my calls when
I lived in California, but since I moved
to Texas, she has not returned my calls
and texts. Do I have the right to ask for
a copy of the trust?
Thank you for your time and assistance.
Linda Lowder
Asked on September 5, 2019 under Estate Planning, Texas
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 5 years ago | Contributor
You can always ask--anyone can always *ask* for anything.
But if she won't voluntarily provide you a copy, the only way to compel her to give you a copy of the trust (or provide other trust-related information) would be through litigation: as a beneficiary of the trust, you could file a kind of legal action traditionally called an action "for an accounting" to make her, as trustee, "account for" her administration of the trust. In the course of that action, you'll be able to see and get a copy of the trust, and if the court concludes that she has acted improperly (taken trust assets for herself; acted negligently or unreasonably carelessly in regards to trust money and assets; violated the terms or instructions of the trust; etc.) it can order her to do or not certain things, to repay money she cost or lost or took from the trust, or replace her as trustee.
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