Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Washington

My husbands mother passed away & a time was set for the family to all gather for the reading of her will. At the reading his uncle furnished us all with copies of her last will & testament & we were surprised to find that it didn�t coincide with what she had just personally told us 4 months before when she learned she had lost her battle with cancer. the �new will� had a 10 year trust provision; it stated that after all her debts were paid "there would be sufficient moneys remaining to fund the 10 year trust, that may be used, solely at the discretion of my representative, for upkeep, taxes, repairs, or a new roof� & that any moneys remaining after the 10 years, the principal & the interest, in its entirety, was to be divided equally amongst her three children.� Problem #1 was that the uncle had the money all used up by the end of the first year, funding everything for her boyfriend, who then declared he was the beneficiary of the trust. Problem #2 is that no trust was ever set up, filed or recorded anywhere. Problem #3�turns out the trust is invalid�it doesnt meet the 'named beneficiary� requirement. Long story short�losing everything in tax foreclosure. Wanted to sue lawyer for bogus will & trust�maybe save properties in time...turns out the lawyer who drew up the will passed on. Probate closed. How can we handle this?

Asked on 6/08/11, 7:35 am

2 Answers from Attorneys

Charles Cruikshank Cruikshank Law Office-Since 1975

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This is more complicated than even your detailed statement of facts indicates. To give a reliable answer to your question will take review of all of the related documents and an interview to explain what the documents leave out.

There appear to be ways to recover for the mess that somebody's actions and failures to act caused, but the fault lines are not clear from your description of events.

You can reach me at (206)624-6761 if you want to discuss this further with me at no charge for my time. I've been doing this work since 1975.

Answered on 6/08/11, 10:29 am

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