Q: Living trust, responsibility's of an trustee
my mother passed away 10 weeks ago and my two brothers were named co Successor Trustee's. they waited 6 weeks to visit and secure my moms house. and during the six weeks my sister took well over $100,000 worth of items from the property. i had visited my moms house a few days after she passed and 5 or 6 times prior to them changing the locks. i never went into the house with out my sister there as she had the keys. i let my brothers know what was happening 10 times at least. but they still did nothing to protect my moms estate. are they responsible for they things my sister took also?
A:
As a general rule, the personal representative(s) (aka executors) are responsible for the reasonable protection of the estate from waste, damage, destruction, theft, etc. While a court would have to determine that a breach of duty occurred, the personal representatives are personally liable for failing to protect the estate.
Contact a lawyer. Realistically, you will need to hire a lawyer to file a breach of duty case, but many probate attorneys will work on a contingent fee basis for this type of case (if you cannot afford to hire an attorney out right).
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