Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in New York
Estate and Trust
My mother was killed in a car accident two years ago. Her will left my uncle in charge of her estate. My sister and I are the sole beneficiaries. My sister convinced my uncle to sign the duties of the trustee to her. She has gravely misused the estate funds. She has used them for her own personal gain. The house is now be in the foreclosure process. Do I have any civil or criminal recourse?
Additional we possessed a joint account with an oral agreement that that money should be used for mortgage payments. She emptied that account out unknown to me. There was in total 30k in that account. Is there any recourse in that?
Thank you so much for any assistance you can provide.
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Estate and Trust
You may have a civil action against both the uncle and the sister.
Concerning the uncle, a trustee has a fiduciary duty to all the beneficiaries of an estate. Generally, the duty is to act as a prudent investor. By allowing the sister free use of the trust - to your disadvantage - may have been a breach of his fiduciary duty.
Concerning the sister, she had use of trust assets to your detriment. You may argue that she also violated her fiduciary duty toward the trust. You may argue that she made a material misrepresentation to the uncle with the intent to defraud, which the reasonably relied on. That may be grounds for civil fraud. There may be other causes of action against the sister.
I do not believe there is a criminal recourse. However, I am not a criminal prosecutor. You would have to file a complaint with the local district attorney's office to determine if your sister and/or uncle acted with criminal intent.
Mike.
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