Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Utah
Inheritance not paid, last wishes not honored
My wife, upon reaching age 21 (she is 22 now), was supposed to recieve an inheritance from her grandmother. The person over the estate, I guess he is the trustee, is her uncle. He has not paid any of what he has supposed to to any of the family. The only person I know of who has been paid was my wifes brother, who several years ago settled with him out of court for a much lesser amount. We have tried several times in the last 6-12 months to call my wifes uncles. We have left answering messages that have not been returned. We have been totally unable to even contact the man. We have a copy of the will, and it appears to be pretty clear cut in its distribution of the estate. We are not sure what path to take from here. We are willing to go to court to get this worked out, though we assume that before it goes that far he will make an offer to settle out of court. That would be an option for us depending on what he offered. I guess the real question is just where to go from here. Thanks
3 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Inheritance not paid, last wishes not honored
It is difficult to answer this question without seeing a copy of the will; however, assuming that you are now of the age prescribed to receive benefits, then you will probably have to either bring a suit to force the payment of the benefits or to force him from the role as Trustee. He should have been filing an annual fiducuary's report with the County Clerk showing what he has done with the trust. He probably has failed to do so, and the funds may be gone. If so, then you should talk to the Prosecutor. This is a complicated matter, and you will need representation.
Re: Inheritance not paid, last wishes not honored
The Trustee of a Last Will and Testament owes the highest duty to the beneficiaries. Breach of that duty can result in punitive damages as well as prosecution for crime if the money was used improperly. The trust document will specify all of the terms, including reporting. The estate settlement should show the amount of funding. Those documents should be public record and available from the County Clerk's Office. You should check for all of the recorded documents of the estate, the Probate file with the Probate Clerk and the Ficuciary Commissioner's file, if one was appointed. You should then consult a probate lawyer to determine what your rights are. If you have all the documents, this should be a no fee consultation.
Re: Inheritance not paid, last wishes not honored
You have used both "will" and "trust" which are different documents. In short, in Utah, you can compel the trustee or personal administrator/executor to perform to the terms of the will or trust. If the will is the document, then the executor may need to open probate in court. You can there make your claim, or you can open probate yourself. If the document is a trust then you can make a written demand that the trustee account to you. If the trustee does not, then you can file a document in court seeking an order to compel performance. You are welcome to call for a free consultation (801) 876-4422.
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