Q: Trustor (my living father in law) sent Notice to Modify Irrevocable Trust to beneficiary's (my husband) invalid address
My husband is an adult and has never lived at the address that the notice was sent to and that address is actually my father in law’s (FIL) second owned house. My FIL doesn’t want my husband to know that a Trust exists (until after he is deceased) so he lied about the address and sent the notice to an address that my FIL would retrieve in the mail himself. My FIL knows my husband’s current address, but lied about my husband’s “last known address” so that my husband does not get any notice or information about his trust. My question is: when my FIL dies and notices need to be sent out to the beneficiaries, how does the probate attorney and/or successor trustee know which last known address to send notices out to since the address on record (the second owned house) is an invalid address for my husband to receive notices?
A:
Dear Los Angeles:
In order to modify an irrevocable trust you generally need a court order, but you did not mention whether or not this was just a general notice or a Notice of Hearing regarding a Petition to Modify an Irrevocable Trust.
If it is a Notice of Hearing, and the hearing has not yet occurred, your husband can appear in court and let the judge know. If the hearing already occurred, he could file a petition to rescind the order for failure to provide proper notice and allow him to file an objection. This would put his current address in the record (and get the court to make appropriate orders as to notice.)
If it is just a "notice" but not related to a hearing, the modification may not be valid and your husband may wish to take appropriate action by filing a petition in court. If nothing else, the failure to serve on the beneficary's know address may in itself be a breach of the fidicuary's duties.
I would have your husband discuss this with an attorney, as if he fails to take action in a timely fashion he may waive his rights. You can contact your local County Bar Association's referral service. The service provides a referral to an attorney who will provide an initial consultation an a modest or no fee.
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