Q: Dad died Wed. and my sister (100% beneficiary) wants to petition LA court to add me to Living Trust. How do we do this?
My father died on Wednesday and we are two children but my father left everything to her (she is 100% beneficiary). So how does she now petition the court to add me which she wants to do to make it a 50/50 split. How exactly do we do this? Do we need a lawyer? It is a simple trust with only a house in it.
According to the probate code section 15403, if a trust’s beneficiaries all unanimously consent to the trust being modified or terminated, they may petition the court to modify or terminate even an “irrevocable” trust on that basis, unless (1) continuance of the trust is necessary to carry out a material purpose of the trust, and (2) the material purposes of the trust outweigh the reasons for the proposed change.
A: It’s very possible court won’t be required. A lot depends on tax considerations, terms of trust, etc. I highly encourage you to hire an experienced trust attorney to help. Good luck.
A: I agree with John. Court may not be be necessary. Talk to an estate planning lawyer about the possibility of a qualified disclaimer, or consider a straight gift from your sister after she collects the money from the trust, or perhaps a simple assignment by her of a half share of the trust out of her share of the trust. Good luck!
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