Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in California
My mother died about a year and a half ago and my sister is the successor trustee of the trust. She is a flake, and possibly untrustworthy, but she has finally sold the house and proposes to write checks to me and my two brothers, contingent upon our waiving accounting and absolving her of all past and future liability for all her acts as trustee. Does she have a right to withhold the funds until we sign? Is there any way to get her to render an account and let us see the closing statement for the sale, without going to court and spending thousands of dollars? This is not a large estate. But, shouldn't she at least tell us how much money we will each receive before asking us for the waiver?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Advice is to obtain a probate/trust litigation attorney to file petition for an accounting; how can you sign off on anything she has done with regards to the estate, if you have not seen the trust provisions, an accounting of the assets, or proceeds of the sale. No she does not have the right to withhold information/funds until you sign a release of her potential liability in management of the assets of the estate. Your opening words "flake, untrustworthy" is a big warning to you that something is amiss, with her management of the estate of your deceased mother.
Try this. Ask your sister for all of the account statements for the last 18 months and see what happens. If she gives them to you and she gives you a dollar amount of the proposed distribution then you can look at the account statements and see if what she has done makes sense.
If that doesn't work, or if the account statements look fishy, then don't waive the accounting. If your sister refuses to do one, then follow Mr. Waid's advice and hire an attorney to petition the court to compel an accounting.
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