Q: How can you determine if a trust exists if both the creator and his attorney have passed away?
My father passed away about 10 months ago. He was divorced from my mother. Recently, my mother asked me if we (my husband, our three kids, answer I) had received the trusts that he had set up. My father had never mentioned, to me, that he had set up any trusts. My mom has said that she thought he told her, many years ago, that he used an attorney friend to set them up. I know the friend who she is talking about, but unfortunately he passed away 10 or so years ago. I have been able to determine if or where my father’s attorney clients have been referred. Is there a way to determine if there is or are any trusts? Especially since maybe the only people who knew about them were my father and his attorney? Thank you.
A:
Most attorneys pass their files on to another attorney when they retire. I would contact the attorney's family and see if they know what happened to the office files.
Look all around the house of course for anything with the word "trust" on it! Or the name of another attorney.
Check with Dad's bank and brokerage house and explain the problem. Whoever was the Executor of Dad's Will has the authority to to do that if the banks/brokers aren't helpful.
There is a VERY small chance that the trusts were registered with the county recorder (nobody ever does this).
Gerald Barry Dorfman agrees with this answer
A:
Also call the State Bar of California to see if they know who took over the deceased attorney’s files.
In the meantime, if you can’t find any property or accounts titled in the name of the trust then there is no point hunting for a trust agreement that might not exist.
A: Check how title is held for all real estate you know of that he owned. If it was transferred to a trust, it will be obvious, such as "X, as trustee of the Y trust".
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