Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in California

Re: Inherited stocks and bonds

Is this in probate or is it a trust outside of probate? Either way, you have rights to annual accountings. You also have a right to a copy of the will/trust involved, if you haven't received that already.

The will/trust will determine whether you're entitled to the money now or in nine years, and how/when the interest earned should be paid to the beneficiaries.

I'd recommend seeing an attorney to know what to expect and what your rights are. Without knowing more, I'm concerned about whether the money is adequately protected in insured accounts or government instruments, and whether the trustee/executor is adequately bonded/insured.

Re: Inherited stocks and bonds

As my colleagues have clearly stated, the first question is determining the type of instrument of distribution; is it a �trust� or a �will�? If this is under a will, is this in Probate? From the facts as they are described, it seems to be more of a Trust question and not in Probate; though the use of the word �executor� causes a little concern.

Your first call of action is to get a copy of the instrument, trust or will. This is the source of which an attorney, or the Court, will look to for directions. This will outline the funding, procedures and powers of the trustee or executor.

Generally, under a trust, a beneficiary is entitled to a complete accounting. This should be as simple as sending the trustee a request for the accounting. Remember to do this in writing, everything legal should always be in writing.

It is very likely that not only is the inheritance governed by a trust, but that the trust allows for broad trustee powers (such as investing), therefore, the sale of the stocks and bonds and placing the proceeds in a marked account would probably not be a violation of the trust's terms. Please note that this is a guess based on available information and not a certainty until the actual instrument of distribution can be read more thoroughly. I agree with Attorney Johnson that you should find out where the savings account is located to ensure that it is in a FDIC institution, however you can look to the instrument of distribution itself, however, to see if a bond is/was required of the executor/trustee.

Other questions that need to be reviewed would be the relationship of the beneficiaries to the deceased; are they children? Grandchildren? Was there a spouse? What is the status of that person? Often trusts are designed to provide some tax benefits and protections, such as a generation skipping tax, is this the case here?

Unfortunately there is no quick answers other than �it depends�. �It depends� on if this is a trust or a will. �It depends� on what powers the trust gives to the trustee. �It depends� on if the sale of the stocks and bonds was a legitimate sale for value or a transfer for less than full value.

For a more in-depth review, we would be happy to review the instrument of distribution for you.

Please feel free to contact us directly at (626) 578-0708, or online at

www.No-Probate.com.

Re: Inherited stocks and bonds

I am going to assume that there is a trust in place into which the assets are placed, and a trustee your article has the power. Depending upon the terms of the trust he may very well have the power to sell all the stocks. Doing so is not necessarily a bad thing but the same time if these are good solid stocks keeping them is also not a bad thing. The question is why did he do it, what is the benefit to the trust and as he doing anything that is 80 his own clause or taking assets wrongfully. You, must take proactive stance is in situations like this with the amount of money available to you over a period of time. You needed attorney immediately who has expertise and estate planning/trust administration. There are numerous questions which come to mind. You need to make the appointment within attorney and bring all of the documentation which includes the trust, the well, and any amendments to either of those documents. If you have inventories of the assets in that would be wonderful. You have a right to each and every one of those documents in you ever right to know what's going on, continuously. The trustee does you a fiduciary duty. He can do almost nothing and earned his trustees the, which because of the total amount in the estate is considerable, or he can do stuff that you may not like. It is really to be determined is it in the best interest of all the beneficiaries or the trust itself. I'm sure you're not happy with an answer that doesn't mean that you cannot question, make waves and investigate to make sure they you're chair, minimally, is not put at risk.I have been practicing law in this legal area for over 30 years and understand your problem well. I practice in the S.F. Bay Area and if you wish to contact me call at 925-945-6000.

Re: Inherited stocks and bonds

I am assuming there is a will or a trust. If there is a trust, you are entitled to receive a copy of the document. The trustee MUST act according to the directions in the trust.

One thing that I can see is that, if there is $12 million in stocks and bonds, there could be significant estate taxes of as much as $5 million. It could be that the stocks had to be sold to pay estate taxes.

Generally, there is an accounting made to the beneficiaries of a trust. Otherwise, I would need to review documents in order to give you an opinion.