Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in New Jersey

Will & Trusts

My uncle died in 1984 in his will he creaded a trust for his sick son. The will states that only the intersed should go for his care and the principal remain intack. The will also stated that the trust shall terminate whe the son dies and the principal and accumulated income shall be divided equally amoug the 9 beneficiary. The son passed away in April 2008.

We don't know what the value of the trust was when my uncle died and how the co trustee spent the interest. We all received a form (Refunding Bound & release form) from the co trustee stating that we were going to get X dollers when we signed the form. She refused to give us any accounting of the trust or what the total value is. Shes acting like she trying to hide some thing.

My question is before we sign the from are we intitle to an accounting of the trust and how much the trust is worth or do we have to just trust this person on the value of it.

Also how do we go about getting all this infomation an accounting.

Thanks for your help.


Asked on 10/25/08, 7:31 am

3 Answers from Attorneys
Jonathan Chester The Law Office of Jonathan S. Chester, Esq., LLC

Re: Will & Trusts

You are entitled to a full and complete accounting from the trustee. If the trustee will not provide the accounting to you, then you can file a complaint in Court demanding the accounting. Once you have the trust accounting, you will be able to file any objections [e.g. money was spent improperly, improper payments made, investment problems, etc.] You will also be able to review the commissions claimed by the trustee to see that they were not computed improperly.

I suggest that you have an experienced trust and estates attorney assist you with this.

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Answered on 10/27/08, 8:07 am
Nancy M. Rice, Esq., CELA Elder Law Offices of Nancy M. Rice

Re: Will & Trusts

You are absolutely entitled to an accounting of the trust. First thing is to tell her you want it. Start with asking for bank account statements.

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Answered on 10/25/08, 8:10 am
Walter LeVine Walter D. LeVine, Esq.

Re: Will & Trusts

I totally agree with Nancy, that you must see and are entitled to an accounting. This should be a full accounting, even if done informally, from the inception from the Trust. If necessary, you can sue for the accounting. Get it before any documents are signed.

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Answered on 10/25/08, 4:23 pm


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