Q: What do I do as the beneficiary of a trust that I believe my mother, the trustee, is accessing without my knowledge?
My grandfather passed in 2017, I was 17 years old. I know that I am a beneficiary to a trust, as is my brother, but I was never given any information on the value or really how it works at all. Now, as a 24 year old, I still have not gained that knowledge. My mother avoids discussing it and typically grows outraged and very nasty when it comes up. I am still living at home because well, its a rough time to be a young adult in terms of finance. I fear initiating any sort of litigation will result in irreversible damage to the relationship and my ability to have a home. Especially if I'm not even sure I have any sort of case to take action. In all honestly, all I want is to know how much money there is(if any remaining at all), where it is, when I am allowed to access it and if my mother has stolen it from me. If it comes to light that she has in fact stolen from me, from there the relationship is already damaged beyond repair and I would seek justice for that wrongdoing.
A: Any beneficiary of a trust with a fully vested interest may seek a copy of the trust document and an accounting of the trust from the trustee at any time. If the Trustee refuses, the beneficiary may bring an action for an accounting against them. This is the beneficiary's remedy if the the trustee does not timely respond.
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