Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Florida

Potential Deletion of Trust Assets by Step-Mother.

Your ability to stop the flow of assets out of your father's trust, will first turn on the language of the trust itself. Look to the goals of the trust and your (and your B & Sis) powers as trustees. 2nd: Look to the powers contained in the POA held by step-mother. Unfortunately, these are ususally very broad. However, if it is a limited power, you may be able to show she has exceeded her authority. Finally, look to the mental and phy. competency of your step-mother to handle the affairs of a 96 year old man. Unless she is more than 25 years his junior, the court may (if a proper case is make) consider removing her (Caveat: this last one is not easy).

If these are GA problems, as opposed to FL problems, I can probably give you more specific cites to the Georgia Probate Code, including Refearn on Wills & Administration and Judge Probst's Handbook for Probate Judges. 404.633.4100 Yours, Hugh Wood

Trustees, Powers of Attorney, etc.

I am concerned that you may be confusing terms, but I'll try to answer what I would tell a NC client (which obviously you are not, so my answer is valid only in my state; it may or may not apply in your state). 1. You can go through the procedure to have him declared incompetent so that no future decisions of his will be recognized. 2. A trustee of a trust is one thing; an Attorney-in-Fact ("AIF") (under a Power of Attorney) ("POA")is quite another. A trustee does not necessarily have to listen to the AIF; it depends upon the terms of the trust and state law. 3. Assets are either IN or OUT of the trust. Asset that are in the trust should be governed only by the terms of the trust, probably not by the AIF (but MAYBE, depending again upon the trust terms). Assets out of the trust may be controlled by the AIF, depending upon the terms of the POA. You are going to need a lawyer in your state to examine all of these things; it sounds like a complicated, and potentially expensive situation for you, I'm afraid.

transfer to trust

your father probably intended for both accounts to be title in the trust. When I create a trust for a client I also do a power of attorney which gives the agent limited power over assets. Specifically, the agent could use the pa only to transfer assets to the trust where they can be managed in accordance with the trust plan. Powers of attorney don't say what the agent is to do with assets once they are acquired by the agent. How has the agent titled the account? Is it still in your fathers account name or in the name of the step mother. Perhaps you can convince her to transfer the account to the trust.

You're a bit confused, I think.

First thing, ask your father's attorney if he properlytransferred his accounts into the trust. Unless the trustsare established by his will, the titles on the accounts should have the word trust in them, specifically they shouldhave the name of the trust within them, and possible the names oof the trustees.

If instead the assets are transferred by will, see to it that his attorney made the will correctly and legally according to thevery minute details local law requires of wills.

Do you think step-mother might really want to rip you guys off? Or are you concerned that her needs might deplete the funds beforeyou get them (while she saves her own money, so to speak, for herkids)?