Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Michigan

Re: revocable trust or not

In order to figure out exactly what you mother could and could not do, I would need to look at the language of the trust. I assume that you are describing a joint trust that was signed by both your mother and father, not two separate trusts, with one executed by each (the difference is significant). Once your father died, it is unlikely that your mother would have the power to amend the joint trust in order to change beneficiaries. Still, she might have been the sole beneficiary of your father's share of the joint trust given that she survived him (with you and your sister as remainder beneficiaries); and that she retained a power of appointment that allowed her to give her share of the joint trust to another document (e.g., another trust or will, which you indicated she made). Really, there is too much uncertainty without looking at the documents and knowing who received what.

As far as the deeds are concerned, a court could very well compel the production of them even though they were never recorded, as there is the possibility that they are still valid transfers of property to the joint trust. This first assumes that your sister admits having them in her possession. You could even investigate whether any copies of these deeds exist anywhere else. The argument against you, in any event, will probably be that there are no assets in the joint trust to distribute (if your mother exercised a power of appointment).

I hope this response is not too convoluted, but it simply involves a great number of variables which are unknown by me at this point.