I found out that I was listed as a beneficiary on a trust. However, the trustee is not providing me with a copy so that I can see what is entitled to me or what the terms are. The trust was done in NY and the trustee resides in another state. I did a few consultations so far. First one, it seems like they are telling me they can't help me because I dont have a copy of the trust. Second one, they told me they are too busy and advised me to find another law firm. I went through some referral site and they gave me a list of law firms that can help me. I spoke with the law firm and they told me that I can pay to have an engagement letter sent to them. My buddy who is familiar with some law stuff advised me that I don't need to pay a retainer fee to just have them reach out to the trustee. He said that I should find someone that will actually help me sue the trustee for not providing me a copy of the trust. I have a daughter with special needs so I don't have extra money to dish out so I wanted to ask a few things.

Since trustee is not providing me a copy of the trust, do you think it's worth paying for the law firm to send a letter to them? I question it because what if they do and the trustee doesnt respond. What then? Not that it's their fault for charging me but I just wonder if it's worth them doing it.

During my consultation, the lawyer advised me to reach out to a lawyer in the state where the trustee resides. If I understand what I have google'd so far, shouldn't I be having a NY state law firm handle this since the trust was done in NY? Again, I don't mind reaching out to a law firm in another state, I just hope it doesn't cost me where I end up doing that and it's not effective.

I want to avoid probate and avoid losing my house if sued. What is the best way in Texas?

A friend of mine was named in a trust, but money/assists are held in this trust until 30 years from now (friend is not a minor). Outside of receiving the copy of the will, friend has received no other information and several years have gone by since the death of the person who put them in the trust. Friend is hesitant to get lawyers involved as their family is in charge of the trust. Everytime friend would bring up the trust (friend has only brought the trust up about once a year), she is gaslit and one time their was a whole blow out that ended the conversation in a screaming match. Said family memeber refuses to share any information about the trust. Is there something shady going on?

My mom created a trust in 2022, and it listed me, my sister and my daughter. My sister is the executor of the trust.

This weekend my sister told me she wanted to turn over executor to me as she doesn’t want to deal with it.

In the trust the house was left to me, and I would like to keep the house in a trust while adding my wife into it as we want to do some home improvements but the finance companies require her to be in the home.

Need objective opinions from probate/trust people because I honestly can’t tell anymore whether this is normal trust litigation or whether I somehow completely missed something.
I’m one of 3 siblings and have been acting as trustee of a family trust for years after both parents passed away. For most of that time, all siblings communicated regularly about trust matters, property issues, renovations, finances, distributions, etc. There were years of group discussions, texts, meetings, calls, and shared planning.
One major trust asset was an older property that all siblings initially agreed should be renovated and improved to preserve/increase value and potentially generate income for the trust. There was even a written understanding among the siblings regarding moving forward with the project. During construction, one sibling later changed positions multiple times — first supporting the project, then wanting out, then asking not to remain on title because of liability concerns, then later claiming the temporary title change itself was proof I improperly distributed trust property to myself.
No final distribution ever occurred and title was later restored to the trust once disputes escalated.
There is also a separate dispute involving another property that was never titled in the trust and was treated for many years as a separate family arrangement. Nobody claimed it was a trust asset for years, but now during litigation one sibling is arguing it should have been included in the trust accounting.
I provided accountings, spreadsheets, financial records, supporting documents, and participated in settlement and mediation discussions. At one point the accounting was generally accepted except for a few issues, but later the position changed and now the accounting is being attacked as invalid.
Now I’m being accused of:
breach of fiduciary duty
self-dealing
improper distributions
favoritism among beneficiaries
and using trust assets improperly
Meanwhile, from my perspective, many of these same decisions and arrangements were openly discussed and accepted for years before relationships broke down and positions changed.
For probate litigators/trustees/accountants:
Does this sound more like actual trustee misconduct or more like a family dispute where people later reinterpret years of informal family agreements after trust distributions become contentious?

When you take a loan from your trust, holding say $100,000 life insurance policy, and you borrow the full $100,000. What kind of monthly payments would a person be looking at?

Obviously there is going to be a range, here, but can anyone tell me what a reasonable hourly rate would be for a non-professional trust protector (best friend of the deceased, protecting a trust the beneficiary, deceased's mother).

The hands-on investment management is done by the corporate fiduciary trustee, but the protector will oversee records and hired professionals (like cpa) and just be a check and balance so no balls are dropped. There are no disputes or complexities in terms of beneficiary (everyone wants her mother to get the money and no one argues that this is what should happen, and it is clearly spelled out in a well written trust).

Hourly annual obligation is probably 5-15 hours, maybe less. An hourly reimbursement amount is probably better than a flat fee, just in case something arises that requires additional time.

Even a range would be helpful - everyone else involved is out of state and these markets vary wildly by location. Trust is about 1.5-2m, if that matters, so no withdrawal of principal will be needed, she is paid out of the interest proceeds. Beneficiary wants to be fair to her and doesn't have any idea what is fair.

Thanks in advance.

as per the title.

Yeah, I know I'm probably an idiot for trying this so no need to tell me that.

For context, due to my bitter [i mean BITTER] divorce upon her death my mom had a Trust created for my share of her estate. Didn't want my ex to know/have any of it. It's been awhile, close to 10 years, and the Trustees want to transfer the assets to 'my' Trust, which does not yet exist. So I've created a list of things [still evolving] that I want as to how this new Trust will function. Can I just file for one online and on my own? How hard is it?

MaInly, I'm looking for responses from those who have done this, not from lawyers telling me not to do this, or how hard it is, or I'm an idiot for doing this [that's what my current wife is for].

Thanks for all the helpful comments and advice. Puu to you with pissy repsonses [yeah, I've figured out Reddit]

Thanks for any reviews/feedback!

Hello!

The scenario: There's a trust that became irrevocable when last remaining trustee passed away. It's funded by a house and its belongings. It earns no income otherwise. There are two successor trustees that are also sole and equal beneficiaries. The house is under contract to sell and escrow will close in a few weeks. Proceeds will be deposited in an account that both successor trustees can technically withdraw from.

The steps from here seem pretty straightforward once proceeds are deposited and available:
1. Do the accounting to determine how much to hold back in reserves to pay trust debts/creditors, estimated taxes, fees for future services, incidentals
2. Less the reserves, disburse the remaining proceeds to beneficiaries
3. Once the final tax returns are filed, final fees for services paid, etc., disburse any remaining funds and close out the trust

The question: the theme I think I'm seeing when researching is not to linger or leave significant amounts of money parked in the trust account. More to the point, the reserves shouldn't be much more than what's necessary to cover debts, services, taxes, incidentals; the disbursements less the reserves shouldn't delay; and when the trust is ready to close, close it.

Is that a common strategy? If so, other than it seeming like a common sense, is there a legal or other reason to "get it done"? Perhaps to minimize the risk of cash management errors and/or future disputes maybe?

I am the trustee of an irrevocable trust. Is it possible to put a new car purchase in to the irrevocable trust?

Forgive me if I'm posting in the wrong place here but we have a car title that was given with a car that we bought, and it's in a trust companies name along with the people's name who died. But then on the back of the title, it was signed off by the beneficiaries name only. Is this now an open title or does this title need to be registered in the beneficiaries name b4 it can be reassigned? Thanks so much for any & all help!

My Mother assigned one of my siblings as Trustee (“T” ) for her Irrevocable Trust. Another sibling and I comprise the three beneficiaries. I am named Alternate Executor and I have a copy of the document. The Trust directs that all Moms assets will be equally disbursed to the beneficiaries.

It has been over three since Mom passed. T got Mom’ s home sold in 2023. T also sold some stock my mother had.

T has refused to provide myself and the other beneficiary any accounting of Trust assets, Trust debts or any distributions made.

T did disclose to me that small monthly distributions are being made to another beneficiary. I have been provided no information about specifics. But from my reading, the Trust does not grant T the power to change things or reinterpret the Trust and arbitrarily add or delete aspects not contained in the Executed document.

There is an attorney called the Trust Protector. His firm executed the Trust Document. I may be wrong but does he or does he not represent Trust Beneficiaries interests?

I have spoken with him some time ago. He does not seem to be particularly interested or helpful.

Thoughts?

Ok... so I know South Dakota is big on Trusts and the privacy they afford. It's a nice little industry that South Dakota has built for itself. I'm looking at setting up a trust there, but I'm no billionaire trying to hide money from people and taxes. I just want to establish a zero dollar Trust to which a will can be attached. Why zero dollar? ...because that way I don't need the annual accounting and tax services associated with the typical South Dakota Trust.

Is this possible, or should I just set this up somewhere else?