Your recourse is within two potential places.

The first place may be in the trust itself which may give you the right to remove the executor.

The second place is in the court of probate. The executor must follow the terms of the trust and can face harsh penalties for not doing so.

The devil is always in the details. In general, the trust can only be changed by the grantor (the one who created it). Once the grantor passes away, the trust is as it is.

However to fully address the issue it would be best to give all relevant documents to a lawyer for review. The... View More

An owner has every right to sell, gift, give away, trade, barter, destroy, or otherwise dispose of any or all of their worldly possessions. There is no law against eliminating the burden of "stuff" of one's own free will.

The responsibility falls on the estate, through the executor. Part of the executor's duties is to manage the estate the for the benefit of the beneficiaries as well as adhere to the wishes and direction of the grantor.

Yes they can. I agree with Robert. In short, the roofer did work on the house. You mother, living there, is benefiting from the work done. The roofer has a valid claim and can put a lien on the home.

The car and the phone belong to your parents because they are titled under their name. Yes, your parents have total control over their use. These items were not "gifts" but things which your parents own and let you use. If you do take the car and phone and refuse to return them if... View More

Typically a bank will not accept that. Signing your brother's name is a forgery. Acting as though your brother has signed the check over to you is a fraud. More important is from whom or where is the check? Does your deceased brother deserve the money? If you take the money, and it turns... View More

Your friend needs to contact a local attorney in California. You do not need to do anything for her to make you her power of attorney or for her to revise her will. That will be handled between her and her attorney who is licensed to practice law in California.

Yes, the administrator of the estate is responsible to ensure the bills are paid, the taxes are paid, the assets are accounted for, any specific gifts are properly distributed, and the remainder of the estate is then distributed per the wishes of the grantor.

There can be co-administrators.... View More

Under Illinois law, when a married person, who also has children, dies without a will, the estate is divided up by giving the spouse 1/2 of the estate and the other 1/2 of the estate is divided evenly among the children. How the estate is divided is up to the person who will eventually named the... View More

Under the laws of Illinois, a spouse does not have a claim to inheritance, divorce or otherwise. You are not required to distribute your father's estate to your late sister's husband. Sorry for your losses.

A person can make a claim of disinheritance in their will, yes. It must be an act of affirmation - in other words you need to state that you are disinheriting person "X". The disinherited party would still have an opportunity to show cause to a judge as to why they should take of the... View More

If you turned title to the car over to the bank, then yes - they own the car and can do with it what they want. Unless you have a written agreement with the bank that obligates them to put the car up for auction so you could bid on the vehicle, the bank had no requirement to do that.

The easy answer to this is "no", your mother's ashes do not legally belong to your sister. I hope the two of you can work out this matter amicably and not have to take it to court.

Without seeing the annuity itself it is difficult to answer. However, if at the time the payout is made, the payout is made only to the living beneficiaries, there are several options they can take to ensure that the descendants of the deceased beneficiary receive his equal share under the... View More