Q: As trustee and executor and poa, Can I sell a piece of property in the family trust if it willed to a family member?
My mother who is sick and has Alzheimer’s has a condo in Florida that isn’t being used. We live in NY. It is in the family trust. It is willed to my estranged sister after mom passes. The maintenance fees are 400 a month plus taxes, and I would rather use that money towards her care or save the monthly money and invest it. Can I sell the condo and put the money in the trust investment account, knowing that I will be the beneficiary of everything and my sister won’t get anything? Will there be legal repercussions from me doing this?
A: As Trustee, you have the power to administer the trust and the assets contained in it. The Trust agreement will dictate what you can and cannot do. The Trust agreement would need to be reviewed before a proper opinion could be provided.
A: Short answer is the documents will govern what you are allowed to do. However, if the trustee has the power to sell, and a will says it should be conveyed a certain way, there may be some inconsistency in the estate plan which needs to be addressed. But, if the property is titled in the trust, the trust (and not the will) governs.
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