Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Michigan
Possible Unclaimed Trust
My mother was informed by a distant relative that when her father died, he created a trust in her name. This was sometime between 1948 and 1953. My mother was taken in by her aunt when her father died and was never informed of this trust until now. Could this trust still be claimed by my mother and/or is it possible that someone else could have claimed the trust without my mother's knowledge? And how can we go about searching for the trust?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Possible Unclaimed Trust
First, check with the State of Michigan, to see if there is unclaimed property either in her father's name, her name or her name in Trust. Also check with the probate court where her father died to see if there was ever an estate opened for her dad.
Unfortunately, when someone says "there was a trust for you" it could mean a lot of things. It could mean an "in trust for account" which is not really a trust, a trust under a will, or a revocable living trust. Given the time frame, I would say it was either an account or a trust under a will.
If the terms of the trust cleary stated the funds were for your mother, no one else was entitled to the funds. Was there someone handling funds for her? If so, check with that person? Is the aunt still alive? If so ask her about it. Also, question any relatives who were living at the time, who are still alive.
Your problem here is first trying to figure out if there was a trust, and if so what happened to it.
Good luck. Our office handles a lot of trust related problems, so if you need further legal advice, feel free to call.
Pat
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