Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in California
California Will and a trust
My grandfather passed away in 1996 and had set up a trust and also a will nameing me and his other grandchildren as benaficiaries along with his children and wife.
His wife, my grandmother just died 1 week ago and I have been waiting to hear about the will... his children, 3 of whom have been named as executors have stated that the trust supercedes the will and that the grandchildren won't get any money from the trust. They have also stated that there were other accounts that were not linked to the trust...and what about the property sales, would those also not be required to pay the granchildren from those?
Have they found a loophole to cut us out of the will for their own benefit? Also, how can I read the will, as they will not allow anyone other than themselves to view it.
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: California Will and a trust
There are a lot of possibilties to get information and checking the status of the trust.To evaluate the best way more details are required.You may go to the appropriate probate court and file a claim by yourself. Better you hire an esperience lawyerin this field. You will not be able to handle it.
Re: California Will and a trust
Sounds like this is in California, and you are in AZ. Couple of things....
1). It would completely unusual for an estate to be disposed of in a week and very uncommon for you to receive notice of any kind this quickly.
2). Most trust and estate plans in California, if created by an attorney, include a pour over will. This will generally takes all of the assets not included in the trust and allocates them to the trust. Of course, you might be in a rare situation where this does not apply.
3). If you are a beneficiary you should receive notice. If you are not, it will be highly unlikely that you can get a copy of the trust unless you have some type of superseding legal claim. Trusts are not public documents.
4). As for the will....These are public documents. Assuming that you are correct and should be receiving something under the will that is not included in the trust, then such a will should be lodged (generally) at the controlling California County.
If you think you have a claim that is being ignored, you should speak to a California attorney who deals with probate and trust challenges.
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