Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in California
My uncle met with HIS lawyer four hours by car away from my mother's home and had changes drafted for my mother's trust. He had a Codicil drafted for her will and an Amendment to her Trust drafted. All of this was done by my uncle's attorney. My mother signed the documents a few days later.
Is it appropriate for my uncle to have these documents drawn up for my mother, especially considering he became a major beneficiary to her trust and I was removed from it?
I also was wondering if there is any kind of law that prohibits the successor trustee (now my uncle) from lying to would-be beneficiaries about the health and welfare of the loved one? I feel duped by him after being reassured that she was in fine health only to learn she was diagnosed with terminal cancer which she did nothing to combat.
These questions pertain to California Probate Laws.
2 Answers from Attorneys
A review of your question leads me to adise you to obtain the services of a probate/trust litigation lawyer, to investigate your allegations and possibly bring a suit against the uncle to have him removed as a benficiary of the trust, for violation of the trust and fiduciary relationship he held with your mother by the exercise of fraud, menace and duress. In addition, the obtaining of the amendments to your mother's trust was not his to obtain, but your mother's, and particularly since he was named a beneficiary. You want to seek the removal of your uncle as a beneficiary of the trust.
Next, consider the filing a complaint for malpractice and damages against the attorney who apparently joined your uncle in this scheme to defraud your mother, and file a complaint with the State Bar of California, the licensing agency for lawyers in California.
Without knowing a lot more about your mother's health, her capacity to make her own decisions, and your uncle's influence over her, how the trust was changed, whether the attorney actually met with your mother, and many other things, it is impossible to advise you.
At an absolute minimum, you should be speaking directly with a lawyer who practices in the area of trusts, probate, and financial elder law abuse. You also should not be waiting to do this. There are a number of us on Lawguru and on other services who practice in this area, and who will likely offer you a free consultation.
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