Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Pennsylvania
what does
My aunt recently died leaving a number of ambiguous situations regarding her estate. For instance, she had several bank accounts, named as follows: Her name and name of another aunt, in trust for several of her neices and nephews: For example: Mary Smith and Susan Jones, In trust for John Doe.
When I and several cousins inquired of the bank, we were told that all accounts in my deceased aunt's name were liquidated.
We believe that my aunt's sister, (Susan Jones), who had power of attorney and executrix privlages, liquidated these accounts. One last piece of background, the sister,
(Susan Jones), is of questionable mental status, being an elderly person suffering from dementia, and we believe is being directed in her actions by a third party.
1. Do my cousins and I have any legal right to the money in these trust accounts where we were named?
2. Would legal action be appropriate in recovering these funds?
3. What would the authority of Susan Jones as Power of Attorney before death, and executrix after death entail in regard to the bank accounts which also were in her name along with the name of Mary Smith? How would this differ in each case? Does here mental staus qualify this authority?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: what does
In your example, the money in the bank account was held in trust for John Doe, and Mary and Susan were acting as Trustees. That means that Mary and Susan are obligated to abide by the terms of the trust when handling the trust funds. So, if Susan abused her power as Trustee and used the money for her own benefit instead of the benefit of the named beneficiary (this is called a �breach of her fiduciary duty�), then she could be liable to the beneficiary. In practical terms, this means that she would have to return the funds to the trust accounts, if possible.
You also raised a concern about your Aunt�s mental status and that she may have fallen prey to a designing third party. If the situation is severe enough, you and your cousins may want to consider initiating a guardianship proceeding in which the Court could declare your Aunt to be incapacitated and could appoint a guardian to handle her financial and personal affairs.
If I can be of further assistance to you and your family, please feel free to contact me.
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