Are you a beneficiary of a trust in West Palm Beach? Have you noticed that you get an accounting regularly? Worse, are you not getting a regular (annual) accounting? Do you know your rights in such a case? Do you know why this document is so important?
Trustees
- A trustee in West Palm Beach oversees your trust in a prudent manner.
- A trustee can be a corporate trustee or just an individual, but knowledge of how to manage finances is crucial.
- A trustee is bound by the terms of the trust and can also be ordered by a West Palm Beach probate court to perform certain actions.
- If a trustee fails to act properly or prudently the beneficiaries of the trust who suffer may have an action against the trustee for the lost income.
- You may notice about once a year your trustee mail you an accounting, and before they are replaced as trustee they usually file these with a court.
- Do you know why?
Trust Accounting
- A trust accounting is similar to every other type of accounting; the goal is to account for the decisions made.
- A trust accounting is usually offered annually if not more often to the beneficiaries of a trust.
- When a new trustee becomes appointed they do not want to be held liable for the mistakes of a prior trustee so the court will review the prior accountings and excuse the present trustee if no one objects.
- After one of these actions the beneficiaries cannot sue the trustee for any incidents prior and related to that accounting assuming it was an accurate accounting.
- A trustee cannot cook the books and then claim that the plaintiff / beneficiary was on notice.
- Do you know why you need to pay attention to these accountings when they show up at your Boynton Beach doorstep?
Estoppel
- Have you ever heard the term estoppel?
- If you are on notice of actions that your trustee is taking (that are against the terms of the trust) you have to bring a lawsuit, or you are “estopped” from doing so later when the investments go bad.
- When you get those Delray Beach accounting statements you should probably pay attention otherwise you may end up paying big time.