Q: What does a person do when you suspect a trustee is actually fabricating attorney invoices, and fake checks.
I believe the trustee of my mother's trust is committing fraud. I suspect he has fabricated an invoice from an attorneys office, says he retained the attorney for an appeal. ( There was no appeal after probate hearings) there's a check made out to attorney for $4000.00 that looks fake. If I just call the attorney named will or can he tell me if he was retained, and paid $4000? I don't think either of these things actually happened, and the trustee is just taking money from the trust making up "receipts" to show beneficiary's and cover it up.
A:
You could certainly inform the attorney of your suspicions. However, he will probably not be able to tell you if he has been retained by the Trustee due to attorney/client privilege rules. You can ask the Trustee for a copy of the front and back of the check that has been processed by the bank. Ask them to also send you the bank statement.
If the Trustee has an attorney you should take your concerns to that person. Be sure that all of your interactions with the Trustee or the Trustee's attorney are in writing and keep a copy.
Ultimately, if you are not satisfied that the Trustee is telling the truth, you should probably hire an attorney to represent you. It's possible this Trustee needs to be removed.
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