Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Illinois
My sister is a trustee, and she constantly says she is going to work on my mother's estate for the last 5 months. She says that my mother told her to not allow herself to be rushed by the other siblings, and she needs to honor my mother's wishes pertaining to privacy and time. She read a letter from the attorney informing the beneficiaries of the process two months ago. However, we have not received it as of yet. Also, we question her motives because we believe she might have used my mother's money when she was the power of attorney. How do I go about dealing with this matter?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Hire a lawyer to warn the trustee to perform her job properly, diligently, and promptly, or risk proceedings in court to supervise the trustee's performance, which you can do even if the trust specifies that the trustee is allowed to administer the trust without interference from or supervision by the court. Notwithstanding such a provision in the trust, the court almost always has the ability to supervise the trustee.
There is something to be said for proceeding carefully, with diligence, but it sounds like this is more a matter of unnecessary delay, procrastination, rather than caution. A letter from an attorney for a polite inquiry should help keep the trustee and her counsel on task.
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