Who do I talk to if the trustee/attorney of my Trust fund won’t answer questions about it?
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Who do I talk to if the trustee/attorney of my Trust fund won’t answer questions about it?
My cousin is both the executer trustee of my dad’s estate He is the trustee of my Trust fund.
I have questions about it and have addressed these to him in writing and by a phone. My questions are still unanswered. I want to borrow against my trust for a financial hardships but he said no such thing exists.
Asked on May 23, 2019 under Estate Planning, Oklahoma
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 5 years ago | Contributor
If a trustee will not respond to a beneficiary and the beneficiary believes that the trustee is not following the trust's terms or instructions, he or she can bring a legal action traditionally called an action "for an accounting" against the trustee. In this action, the court reviews the trustee's handling of the trust (makes him or her "account" for what he or she has done as trustee) and, if the court believes that the trustee is not doing what he or she should, can order him or her to do certain things or repalce him or her as trustee.
Before doing that, bring a copy of the trust paperwork to a lawyer to review with you, to see if the trustee exists. There is no inherent right to borrow against trust amounts for financial hardships--you could only do this if the trust itself says you can. So the trustee may be right; you want to see if he or she is, before you go to the trouble and expense of litigation. A lawyer can look at the trust paperwork and tell you what your rights are.
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