Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in California
As a beneficiary who believes the trustee is incorrectly handling the trust that was set up between him and my mother (who died 10/14/2002) - can I file Probate Code Document 17200? The house (in Walnut Creek) was just sold In Oct. 2016 - we 5 kids always understood that the proceeds were to be divided evenly between us. The trustee has refused for over 14 years to allow us to see a copy of the trust. He issued checks for $10,000 in December and in March of 2017 sent checks for over $40,000 to 3 siblings and $100 to two of us (I'm one them). His reason is because we crossed out inheritance on the first check and wrote in 'partial payment from trust'. On each check I believe he noted that it was a final payment. He also has stated to others that since CA is a community property state he gets half the proceeds. This is after living in the house for 14 years with wife #4. The house was (or nearly so) without a mortgage. He also owns a home (in Patterson) where they are currently living that had been in the trust originally but he removed it 2 weeks before my mothers death (which we knew was coming) and having her sign a $90,000 loan against it. In June of 2016, just prior to putting the Walnut Creek house on the market, he took out a loan for $50,000 on it. This man has stated he can do whatever he wants with the money as trustee. To make this difficult for me is the fact I live in Oregon. My main question is: do I need to hire an attorney in CA to file 17200 paperwork. Or, is it possible to obtain that paperwork and have someone I know down there file it for me.
Also, I have requested a copy of the trust via e-mail 5 times and had an attorney (a friend) send a letter requesting the documents on my behalf on 10/31/16. He has told someone that he tore up the letter and that his attorney told him that I didn't know what I was talking about when saying I was entitled to this information. I am a low income person and the distance obviously does not enable me to easily get down there. Any suggestions are most welcome. Thank you.
2 Answers from Attorneys
You can represent yourself, but there are many reasons why that is never a great idea. You can file a 17200 Petition but do you know all of the things you should be asking for? The Court can only grant the relief you ask for (generally). You will be held to the same standards as an attorney in terms of knowing who to serve papers on, how to serve papers, deadlines and other procedural issues. If he is living in Patterson now, then Contra Costa County may no longer be the correct venue to file your Petition in. I would advise you to consider finding an attorney you can work with. It will cost money, but it may save you a lot more in the long run.
I agree. Given that the trustee is secretive and not performing as a trustee should, you may also want to have the trustee removed and to obtain a court order for a full accounting.
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