What happens when the trustor/grantor has died?
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What happens when the trustor/grantor has died?
My uncle recently died. He and his wife had a trust; I don’t know what type of trust it was. They were both trustees. What I wonder is what happens with a trust when the grantor/trustor dies. Will the beneficiaries get informed or do each person, who think they might be a beneficiary, have to request the information themselves? Is there a time limit, within which, one has to contact the trustee? Read on internet that the trustee has to inform the beneficiaries within 60 days after death – is that correct? Should we sit back and wait to be contacted or what do we have to do?
Asked on November 3, 2011 under Estate Planning, California
Answers:
FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 13 years ago | Contributor
To answer your question as to the status of the trust that you are writing about where the trustees of the trust who were also the trustors have passed away, you will need to read the terms of the trust to ascertain who if anyone is the alternate trustee and how the assets of the trust are to be disbursed.
If there is no alternate trustee spelled out in the trust, a family member will have to file a petition for the appointment of one by the court. It is suggested that a Wills and trust attorney be consulted for this.
If there is no alternate trustee in the turst that you write about, notices to the beneficiaries of the trust cannot be given.
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