Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Virginia

Re: Some clarity on trust/beneficiaries

You wrote: "I believed I was just as much an ''owner'' of the trust as she was." That is absolutely correct. But the terms of the trust must also be followed. You were an "owner in waiting" so to speak, owning what we call a future interest.

So the question is what the trust says and what the facts are. As long as your mother was alive, (IF this is what the trust says after a CAREFUL reading), then apparently the income from the trust belonged to her as the initial beneficiary.

Upon the initial beneficiary's death, we think the trust says that the income then belongs to the successor beneficiary, you.

The key is to follow exactly what the trust actually says as closely as possible.

So the question becomes exactly when did the income change ownership? This is by no means easy from an accounting perspective. The legal concept is very simple. If the mother died on July 20, then all income up through July 20 belonged to her, and all income starting on July 21 belongs to the successor beneficiary.

However, how do you break apart the income in this way? It can be a difficult accounting question as to what income was earned when.

Also, of course, you are entitled to ensure that all money that was disbursed was income, and not principal.