Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Massachusetts
What are Massachusetts laws on estates when beneficiaries are not found? my mother is a beneficiary of a trust that will be split between her and her brothers children (he is deceased). In the trust it is listed as Per Stirpes. The children though cannot be found. It has been over 7 years looking for them. What happens at this point - does the per stirpes rule mean that the funds will be held indefinitely by the state until a beneficiary comes forward? Or is there a certain time frame before my mother can petition for it?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Do you have an attorney working on this with you? If not, please consider getting one. Have you tried an internet search? If you find one cousin you will likely be able to find most if not all of the others. If you have truly spent 7 years searching, you should consider hiring an investigator. The terms of the trust will dictate what will happen to your uncle's share, but with a per stirpes distribution and 7 kids, you will need hard evidence that there are no heirs other than your mother to receive. Good luck -
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Debt withheld from estate settlement Asked 1/10/17, 5:17 pm in United States Massachusetts Probate, Trusts, Wills & Estates
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