Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Nevada

Do beneficiaries have the right to see living trust papers?
Help! My mother passed away three months ago, leaving a living trust with myself and my sister as the beneficiary, and her best friend as the trustee. No one will give me copies of the papers to the trust, and when I've called the lawyer they keep dragging their feet - but then demanded more money from the trustee because I'm callling! Do I have a legal right to see the papers in the state of Nevada? And is there a time frame on that right? The best friend has told me she will not distribute anything for five years, related to a property that my mother held the mortgage on, because if the payee defaulted she would want to foreclose (we're the second lien holder). Both my sister and I don't want to do that - we want to walk away if he defaults, as we feel foreclosure isn't the answer. But without copies of the papers we don't know what to do, and are extremely frustrated as we feel everyone is stonewalling us. Since the mortgage is money owed to the estate, not a debt owed by the estate, we don't understand why this would delay disbursement.
Thanks!

Asked on 4/10/09, 2:29 pm

2 Answers from Attorneys

Jonathan Reed Reed & Mansfield

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Re: Do beneficiaries have the right to see living trust papers?

Now you see one small advantage of wills over trusts. The will would have to be filed with the court. With the trust there is no court filing unless you sue in probate court for an accounting. Still, overall, in most cases, beneficiaries are better served by a trust.

Logically, the trustee should give you a copy to avoid the threat of a lawsuit. If you can't make the trustee see this, call me and I can either write the trustee or file a lawsuit for you.

Answered on 4/10/09, 6:01 pm

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