Q: Trustee of my Grandfathers will is dodging paying anything out of account to those entitled to its benefits. help
My grandfather setup a trust within his will that will pay for my college courses/apartment while im enrolled at an university. I have been trying to get him to follow through and help me get money from this account. In the 5 emails I have with him it feels like i have been negotiating to get what I am rightfully entitled to and last email ended with him planning to call me, however that was 3 weeks ago and I cannot get a hold of him. I have rent/courses payments due in a week and wondering if some action can be taken for negligence to comply or to get him taken off the will as the trustee.
A:
The answer to your question depends on the provisions of the testamentary trust. These trusts sometimes are set up as spendthrift or discretionary trusts. This gives the trustee the right to make disbursements purely at his or her discretion, in order to protect the corpus of the trust from creditors who might otherwise be able to compel disbursements. Sometimes the trusts allow disbursements strictly for designated purposes, with education as a common one.
You should provide an experienced Virginia trusts and estates lawyer with a copy of the will creating the testamentary trust for a consultation with you regarding your rights as a beneficiary.
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