Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Missouri

Trustee Refuses to Carry Out Terms of Trust

When my wife's grandfather died in 2003, her uncle became trustee over the family farm. He has refused to show the trust document to anyone in the family and has refused to carry out the terms of the trust. We know this because he carelessly left the trust document in his pickup truck after visiting a lawyer, and a family member found it and copied it. We know the trustee is benefiting financially by allowing the entire farm to be farmed by other farmers. The trust clearly stipulates that 50% of farm real estate is to be distributed to my wife and her siblings 60 days after the grantor's death. Due to the fact that my wife's uncle has a terrible temper, has threatened people before, and can be violent, my wife is afraid of taking any sort of legal action to recover her inheritance. My question is whether or not there is a time limit for taking such legal action in the state of Missouri. Can my wife lose her inheritance if she waits too long? Again, her grandfather died in 2003.

Thanks


Asked on 9/09/07, 1:41 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Michael R. Nack Michael R. Nack, Attorney at Law

Re: Trustee Refuses to Carry Out Terms of Trust

Of course there are statutes of limitations that will prevent a person from filing suit if the person waits too long, but I would need to conduct legal research to tell you whether there might be a problem in your mother's case. My initial reaction is that the Uncle is continuing to breach his legal duties under the trust and so your Mother should be O.K. I would definitely advise you to hire an attorney to review the trust instrument and provide your Mother with the legal advice and service she needs without further delay. Good luck.

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Answered on 9/09/07, 7:10 pm


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