Q: My boyfriend has a trust account he can’t touch until he’s 30. His aunt is the trustee.
She hid it from him for 2 years, we think she spent most of the money (her and her husband buy huge houses, expensive trips) and I am now pregnant with his child and she’s now refusing to give him any money. She would give my boyfriend a couple thousand to help when he was struggling with rent. She hasn’t even mailed him any documents of the trust account. So my question is: is she legally supposed to give him some money because we’re having a child and we’re not financially stable? Or does he really have to wait until he’s 30? (he’s 24 by the way) even though she’s been giving him some money on the side before. Can she get into legal trouble?
A: A trustee has a fiduciary obligation to protect the assets of a trust for their intended purpose. Normally the remainder beneficiaries, by statute should have copy of the trust and be provided with an annual accounting. If this has been done you should seek an attorney in your area that does trust litigation to obtain a copy of the trust, review it and advise your boyfriend of his current options.
Phillip William Gunthert and Bruce Alexander Minnick agree with this answer
A: He as a beneficiary can demand and is entitled to a copy of the Trust as well as a number of other things, such as an annual accounting and so forth. You will want to review the Trust and see what it precisely says and who is entitled to get what, when and in what type of ongoing payments. A Trustee as a main job, take care of the assets for the named beneficiaries according to the terms of the Trust. A Trustee rarely has many powers as they think they do and they surely do not have the ability to access the funds for themselves and their families if they are not named and or authorized to do so by the Trust terms. If you have concerns and you are not getting documents, accountings and answers, it may well be time to follow up further with legal counsel to get more information and additional details.
A: Retain a qualified estate planning lawyer so he can obtain the will and any estate planning documents filed with the probate court. That’s where you should begin.
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