Daughter Sues Mom Over $800,000 Gift, Trust, Fraud

Uncategorized • Apr 28, 2014

Palm Beach is not the only place for high dollar probate litigation. Where else can a daughter sue a mother over $800,000 in gifts and a family trust and a promised gift for a house. Massachusetts …. Sort of. This is a case where a daughter and her husband sued her mom because they claim mom was supposed to make a gift of $800,000 to them. This trust lawsuit was in federal court in Massachusetts and was dismissed. Family members and heirs at law in Palm Beach may want to read this recent case signed April 9, 2014. In involves an international step father worth millions, allegations of fraud by a son in law against his wife’s mom, a family trust and Belgium estate. See, Palm Beach is not the only place where multimillion dollar estates & trusts end up in probate litigation.

Kids Want $$ — Promises & Oral Trust?

Tania is the daughter of Joan
Joan married Henry a citizen of the Netherlands, on July 11, 1974, in Amsterdam.
May 19, 2000: at the family summer home in France, Joan & Henry promised Tania $800,000 so she could purchase her own house.
Did they create an oral trust? (By the way, under the Florida Trust Code, trusts need to be in writing)

Kids Want $$ — Promises & Oral Trust?

Tania is the daughter of Joan
Joan married Henry a citizen of the Netherlands, on July 11, 1974, in Amsterdam.
May 19, 2000: at the family summer home in France, Joan & Henry promised Tania $800,000 so she could purchase her own house.
Did they create an oral trust? (By the way, under the Florida Trust Code, trusts need to be in writing)

Trust Created

August 14, 2000, Joan and Henry create family trust for daughter
August 28, 2003: Henry dies in Belgium
August 31, 2003 trust has 1,692,012 CHF (Swiss francs)

Henry’s Estate — $7 Million !

Henry’s will was done according to Belgian law
His will does not mention the family trust for daughter
His will does not leave any inheritance to Tania

Tania Gets Married – Mom Doesn’t Attend Wedding

May 5, 2006: Tania and Tod get married in Massachusetts
Mother Joan purportedly refused to attend the wedding unless Tod signed a prenuptial agreement, or, agreed to give upclaims to any house purchased with the promised $800,000.
The couple refused, and mom Joan did not attend their wedding.

Withdrawal of Trust Funds

April 12, 2006 for 4 years, Joan withdrew $450,000
June 13, 2010, Joan transferred $700,000 from the Family Trust account to one of her personal bank accounts
She uses the $$ to purchase a life-insurance policy
Approximately $450,000 in the Trust was lost in stock investments

$$ for House Confirmed ?

Evidently there were a number of conversations or writings where Joan confirmed that money was coming for the house
But, Joan renounced her United States citizenship at the American embassy in Belgium

Kids Sue Mom — fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, trust accounting

February 19, 2013 the kids sue mom for:
fraud,
breach of fiduciary duty,
breach of contract,
promissory estoppel,
conversion, and
unjust enrichment.
damages of at least $950,000
a trust accounting

The court dismisses the trust lawsuit in part because the court has no personal jurisdiction over Mom—they need to go overseas to sue mom. The Case number is: Civil No. 13-10324-FDS for the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts. Here is the link to searching for opinions: http://pacer.mad.uscourts.gov/opinion.html.