Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Illinois
Trust Beneficiary?
My aunt recently passed and left a revocable living trust.
Her brother was the trustee and has been very quite since the funeral about financial matters. I was told by my uncles wife that there were more bank accounts found and they hope to wrap everything up shortly.
How would i know if I am a beneficiary in the trust? Does a lawyer contact you?
My aunt also wrote out a note stating i am to be a Trustee to CDS which I am to recieve upon her death. My uncle was POA as well as trustee. Could he cash in my CDS for himself? Aunt also had a house which is up for sale Uncle had 50 percent left to him and 50 percent to the trust.
Would we have to wait until the house is sold before we get our money, if we were to get anything.
Does Illinois law allow you to send a Cerfied letter to the trustee and ask for a copy if i think im a beneficiary?
Thank you so much for any help
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Trust Beneficiary?
The questions that you pose bring up other questions. The first one being, is these a will? If so, has it been filed? It is the responsibility of the executor of the estate to file the will within 30 days of death. If the will has been properly filed, you may request to see a copy through the county clerk's office (the county clerk keeps the original will in his/her office).
If there is property being split between the trust and other beneficiaries (you say that your uncle will be receiving 1/2 of the house and the trust the other 1/2), there may be a probate estate already opened. Check with the clerk of the probate court in the county in which your aunt had her residence, or in the county where she died.
It seems that you don't have much open communication between your family members at this time; otherwise most of these questions could be posed to your uncle (the trustee) and answered directly.
To protect your rights, you should talk to an attorney who is familiar with probate matters. You may need to have an estate opened so that the assets of the estate are distributed to the appropriate parties.
Lastly, the ownership of the CDs depends on how they were titled. The CDs may or may not be a part of the estate. Again, an attorney will be able to give you the appropriate answers based on the documents themselves.
Good luck to you.
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