An Answer to the Question: How to find out if I am the beneficiary to a family trust fund?
June 28th, 2011 Filed under: Trusts attorney — Estate Planning Author
Many of you might be asking this same question so I’m posting with the answer here. Enjoy. The question is from Keepin_it_Real
My grandmother told my parents many years ago that I was the beneficiary of her trust fund. We do not have a copy of her will. It was not filed with the clerk of the court. Her nephew has the will and says the will is worded so that it would be almost impossible to have access to the trust. ??? What steps would you take to try to obtain the will? I know who her attorneys were. I know the name of the trust. Thanks for any guidance or direction you can provide me.
Answer: I would start with the attorneys who wrote the trust, and find out who the trustee is. The trustee is the person who is responsible for paying out money from the trust (or not paying it out, if the trust restricts certain payments).If her will was filed in probate or family court, you can get a copy of that by going to the courthouse serving the area where she lived. Trusts are not required to be filed in probate court, so you will have to go to the attorney (or your cousin, the nephew) to get it.It is not unusual that trusts have restrictions on how money can be taken out. For example, it may say something like “$5,000 is to be given per year to my granchildren to help with their college education”. Well, if you already graduated, that wouldn’t be available to you.
Tagged:Personal Finance
