Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in New York
excluded from a trust
My grandmother died a couple of months ago and I am the only son of her pre-deceased daughter. She is also survived by my aunts--her two other daughters--and my grandfather passed away six years prior.
My grandmother left behind a home which she owns outright and she left no will. After much stonewalling by my aunts regarding my right to my mothers share, they finally told me to get an attorney and have my attorney contact theirs. Upon doing this I come to find that a trust has been established which does not include me as a beneficiary and their lawyer refused to give any other details as to when the trust ws established, etc.
For various reasons I believe that my grandmother was unduly influenced or somehow duped into creating such a trust--she was 89 yrs old, ill, bad memory, immigrant who spoke little english. It is also common knowledge that her wishes were that I recieve my mothers share, and in fact, that I should be left waht ever is left of my aunts portion upon their death as they have no children.
I am currently waiting for a title search so that I can get some more information about the trust.
Where should I go from here? What are the prospects for challenging a trust under these circumstances?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: excluded from a trust
Work closely with your lawyer
Re: excluded from a trust
Retain a good local estate-litigation attorney, and your chances might be good. However, I need to caution you that you have an uphill battle. You would need to prove undue influence or incompetency, which may not be easy. You can get discovery, which would include a look at the trust document. Depending upon when it was created, you would need to have medical testimony from her treating physicians as to her mental status and/or testimony from people who knew her well. You may end up having the burden of proof on the undue influence issue, which may be difficult. These types of suits are time consuming and costly, and you need to question if the expense justifies the end result if you are successful. It is possible that if you have a strong attorney a settlement may be offered. Suit needs to be brought promptly before assets are distribted. Suit is brought in the county where your grandmother resided at her date of death. If this is CT or NY (you do not specify which), I might be able to recommend several attorneys to you.
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