BROTHER SUES BROTHER IN #TRUST LITIGATION: #TRUST BENEFICIARY SUES #TRUSTEE OF #REVOCABLE LIVING TRUST OVER ACCOUNTING: COURT SAYS “You’re too late”
In a very recent Michigan trust case, one brother sued brother as a trustee over #trust money.
AUNT CREATES TRUST FOR TWO NEPHEWS
In October 2006, the Brothers’ aunt created a #revocable living trust. Within a few months, the aunt was dead and one brother was sole trustee of the #revocable living trust. The #revocable living trust had two beneficiaries: the brothers.
Normally, when one receives an inheritance, it is a time of at least some joy and gratitude. It’s found money, kind of like winning the lottery. You would expect one to be happy, and one would expect that things might be a little easier with a few extra bucks in your pocket. But…………….
Not necessarily so in the world of #trusts and #inheritances.
Money, control over that money, perceived power and #trustee discretion can lead to #trust litigation. When level heads and calm thinking don’t prevail, enter the #trust lawyers. This is another chapter in #inheritance war. This one, between two brothers who are #trust beneficiaries.
TRUSTEE PROVIDES #TRUST ACCOUNTING TO #TRUST BENEFICIARY — WHO SITS ON IT FOR 3 YEARS !
In June 2008, the Brother trustee sent his brother, the other trust beneficiary, a #trust accounting. The #trust accounting:
•· Was from the date of their aunt’s death through the end of May 2008
•· showed how much #trust money the brother beneficiary had received already
•· showed how much #trust money the brother beneficiary would receive in the future
#TRUST BENEFICIARY SITS ON HIS RIGHTS !
The #trust beneficiary didn’t do anything for over three years.
Three years after receiving the #trust accounting, the #trust beneficiary filed a petition to remove the #trustee.
The #Brother trustee filed court papers with the #probate court saying that the trust beneficiary brother was time-barred— he took too long to object to the #trust accounting and was time barred from #objecting to the trust accounting because the statute of limitations had expired.
The court agreed. And so did the appellate court. The case was sent back down to the trial court on the issue of #trustee attorney fees.
THE LAW OF #OBJECTING TO TRUST ACCOUNTINGS
A #trust beneficiary does not have an unlimited time frame to object to a #trust account.
If you do not like what you see in a #trust accounting, or you don’t understand it, you must file an #objection to the trust accounting.
The statute of limitations to object to the trust accounting varies from state to state and from trust to trust and circumstance to circumstance. It may be as short as six months or a year, or less. Some #probate courts require you to set a #court hearing for your objections within a certain timeframe.
Get serious or get gone. The law does not help those who sit on their rights. The law helps those who exercise their legal rights and who say something. Remember: silence, and inaction, are considered acquiescence and acceptance . To remain quiet is to do so at your own peril. Or, as #John Prine says “Silence is golden — until it screams !”
FOR REFERRAL SOURCES, LAWYERS AND LITIGATORS
We help you with Florida estate and trust administration and trials, and #probate appeals.
Our #Florida probate law firm
- does not prepare estate plans
- does not draft wills and trusts
- does not steal your clients or your probates
Our #West Palm Beach, Florida #probate litigation firm :
- hands your clients back to you at the conclusion of the #Florida litigation—after all, they are YOUR clients
- we try cases & handle appeals
- our practice is restricted to #Florida probate disputes & contested guardianships
- we work with you on #Florida estate administration, #Florida probate
- we litigate for and protect beneficiary rights
- we represent #Florida personal representatives or executors, and #Florida trustees
- we receive approximately 95% of our clients from other lawyers
- we take contingency fee cases
Who are we? Our firm is comprised of
- serious Florida litigators,
- focused probate lawyers,
- experienced paralegals and support staff.
We have been involved in high profile, nine figure, multi-million-dollar #Florida estates, including Madoff matters, old # Palm Beach money and complex trusts and multi-party #Florida probates. We also handle “small” or “simple” matters. All we do is litigate and help you with #Florida estate and trust administration. #Tortious interference with an inheritance and allegations of #undue influence, and #will challenges and trust challenges are a unique subspecialty of the law. Does your client know which ones to file, when to do that, and why? Do you know the different ways to prove each case? How about quantifying or assessing damages? It would be our pleasure to work with you and to serve your clients. For a complete copy of this very recent legal opinion please email michelle@pankauskilawfirm.com.
John Pankauski, www.johnpankauski.com, is the author of The Trustee’s Book – An Individual’s Guide To Money, Misfits, Marriages, and Mismanagement, and the upcoming The $41 Trillion Inheritance War. He is an estate and trust litigator in West Palm Beach, Florida, www.pankauskilawfirm.com and has been featured on the CBS Evening News, in The Wall Street Journal, MarketWatch, NBC, ABC and Fox networks.