Glen Burnie, MD asked in Estate Planning for Maryland

Q: Which court in A. A. County , Maryland handles reassignment of a deceased Trustee for a Non Grantor, Irrevocable Trust?

As Principal Beneficiary and the person who established the Trust, I need to assign a new Trustee. The original Trustee passed away a couple of years ago ( I have the death certificate) and I am unable to aquire any reports regarding the financial status of my trust from the financial institution. The Trust states 'if a Successor Trustee is not selected within a period of thirty (30) days after notice of resignation, death or incapacity of a Trustee then any interested party may secure the appointment of a Successor Trustee by a local court of competent jurisdiction, at the expense of the Trust Estate'. I have a notorized document amending/deleting the original Trustee assignment section and amending/adding a new Trustee assignment section. I can't seem to find any information as to which court or department would handle such a request or where I would need to file.

Thank you in advance,

Marion

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1 Lawyer Answer
Mark Oakley
Mark Oakley
Answered
  • Estate Planning Lawyer
  • Rockville, MD
  • Licensed in Maryland

A: A lawyer would need to review the successor trustee and appointment provisions of the trust to properly advise you. You should not need a court proceeding at all. The "any interested person" default language is likely there in the event the person identified as having the power to appoint the successor trustee fails to act at all. The passing of 30 days would not deprive that person of the authority to act. Whether you reserved the power to appoint the successor trustee is unclear. Consult a lawyer to review the trust.

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