Correcting Mistakes in Trust litigation
Navigating trust litigation can be difficult, especially when family dynamics are intertwined. It’s important to understand that you can’t win a case simply because a parent made a misguided choice. For parents, it might be worth reconsidering how you title your property to avoid potential conflicts among your children after you’re gone. Choosing joint tenancy instead of placing assets in a revocable living trust can create complications, particularly for second or later marriages. Considering these factors can help foster peace among your loved ones if you’re unsure about your next steps; this article can guide you in the right direction.
How A Mistake Can Affect Your Inheritance
A grieving son contacted me because he couldn’t understand why his father’s second wife’s niece inherited all of his property. As he explained things to me, his father remarried and created a revocable living trust, a typical A-B trust, to hold all of his property. As expected, his father died before his second wife.
The second wife was decent and tried to carry out the terms of the trust. She began funding the two sub-trusts after her husband’s death. Unfortunately, her health rapidly declined after her husband’s death, and she was never able to complete the process of funding the two sub-trusts. In fact, before her death, she realized her late husband had taken a large bank account out of the trust and retitled it so that he held it with her as joint tenants. She recognized that he intended this bank account to be part of the trust, and she wanted to honor her husband’s wishes. She even wrote a letter to the attorney helping her fund the two sub-trusts. In the letter, she said the bank account should go into one of the sub-trusts.
The second wife died before this was done. Therefore, the large bank account never returned to the trust. The second wife never had any children. Her niece was appointed the successor trustee of the trust. The second wife’s niece was very “helpful” to her aunt while she was still alive. To “help” her aunt, the niece convinced her to write her in the bank account as a joint tenant. When her aunt died, the niece was in complete control. The niece inherited the bank account as the surviving joint tenant.
The father’s son couldn’t believe what he found out. His father had created a trust, funded the trust, and mistakenly changed the title to the account. His father’s second wife acknowledged the mistake, but still, he wasn’t going to get his intended inheritance.
Correcting Mistakes in Trust litigation
Unfortunately, his father made a mistake, and then his father’s wife compounded that mistake. Unlike most cases that come to me for trust litigation, this one didn’t have an apparent bad guy. All the mistakes this man’s father made were made on his own. While there are many legitimate reasons to begin trust litigation, you can’t win because someone made stupid mistakes. If you need help winning your trust litigation, call us today. We are here to help. For more information, you can also request our free book, Winning the Inheritance Battle.
Common Grounds for Contesting a Trust in California
If you still want to challenge the trust, the first step is understanding trust contests. To contest a trust in California, you must adhere to the California Probate Code to secure your rightful inheritance.
For a comprehensive look at contesting a trust in California, please read our detailed guide on “Common Grounds for Contesting a Trust in California.” This guide will help you understand your rights in contesting a trust and what you need to know moving forward.
Next Steps
Understanding the basic duty of a trustee in California is essential for trustees and beneficiaries alike. By adhering to fiduciary duties, maintaining transparency, and seeking legal guidance when needed, trustees can effectively manage trusts and protect beneficiaries’ interests.
To ensure they follow their fiduciary duties, check out our complete Overview of California Trust Litigation on our website. If you have more questions about your rights as a Beneficiary and what you should know moving forward.
Our law firm specializes in trust and estate law, and we are here to assist trustees in fulfilling their duties and navigating legal complexities.
Our law firm specializes in trust and probate law, and we are here to help you navigate these complex issues. Contact us today for a consultation. Let us assist you in ensuring your rights are upheld, and your trust is managed prudently. Please call us at (888) 443-6590 or fill out our Get Help Now form below.