Trustee/Executor Trouble

[vkea]

Hi, I'm new here so hope I do everything okay. Here is my question. My parents have a trust and wills in the state of California. My mother passed away in March 2007. After this event, I found out from my father that about 12 years or so ago, the person my mother chose to be the trustee/executor/conservator had borrowed $75,000 from them and never paid it back. This was before the trust was in force. The reason for the borrowing of the money was due to illegal activities this person was stuck in.

I questioned my father further to find out what the situation was that caused her to borrow $75,000. Apparently, she had done something illegal at her place of employment (stock brokering). She also borrowed $75,000 from her then boyfriend, who sued her because she did not pay him back. I do not know what took place in that lawsuit. She also took a second on her house and then promptly lost the house. My father told me that whatever it was that she did, the employer told her that if she did not give the money back to the company immediately, they would call the police. I don't know what possessed my parents to loan this woman $75,000.

Needless to say, I don't trust the trustee and neither does my dad. He is unhappy with they way she is trying to throw her weight around.

Is there anything I can do to help my dad get this woman off of the trust? On my mother's death, the trust was renamed from my dad's name to this woman's name. Also, upon my mother's death, the trust broke into three parts: the survivor's trust, the marital trust, and the family trust. It states that my father can change the survivor's trust but not the marital or family trust. I'm afraid this trustee is out for no good in some capacity. Can we try to recover the $75,000 since it was borrowed before the trust was executed?

Also, the attorney who wrote the trust, which I think is part boilerplate and part customized, notarized all parts that needed notarizing. That seems kind of weird to me, but it might be okay for her to do that.

Any insight on this is greatly appreciated. Thanks a bunch.

[annjd]

a court would probably remove her if you laid out those facts

you may want to just tell her that and also that you will file if she does not resign

that really is outrageous, she obviously has no concern for the trust at this point
get rid of her

[vkea]

Thank you!! That's exactly what I was feeling. I suppose I needed unbiased opinion because I'm beginning to doubt my own sanity!

This trustee has been making my father feel uncomfortable. He is very shy and will not confront her. He told his nurse that he is frightened that she will declare him incompetant and place him in a "rest home." The trust states that she has the ability to do that without going to court for an evaluation if she feels that "he can no longer make competant decisions."

It is my thinking that we should nip this in the bud before she does something stupid. He told me that he does not want her to find out that he told me that she owes that much money to him and the situation under which it was loaned. It would not be difficult to find the check he wrote to her. He always wrote "loan" in the memo portion when he loaned money. He never told her that she did not need to pay the loan back, and he never told her the loan was forgiven, either verbally or in writing.

Since she was able to gather the funds to pay back her place of employment (Dean Witter), she was never in the legal system. However, I am sure that the company would "give up the goods" on her if they were to be subpoened, or possibly give the information to an attorney-hired investigator if this became necessary.

I am just thankful that those who don't know my situation have had the same reaction to this that I had.

It has come to mind that she and the attorney are in cahoots, but the attorney has no complaints made against her, and she has been in practice since about 1977, which leads me to believe that the attorney might have been hoodwinked, too. The trust states that the trustee is appointed without bond, so that disturbs me, too.

If the trustee "hoodwinked" the attorney, how do we stand on that point? Is the trust legal?

I guess I'm not sure if I want to tell the attorney this information because I am not sure where she stands in all of this. My father won't dismiss her, again, because he dislikes confrontation. If I step in, then I'm accused of "influencing" my father's decisions. I have been "threatened" with this by the attorney and the trustee, but I am wondering how much of the real story the attorney has received from the trustee (probably a big zero percent). In other words, I've been made the "villain" in this whole mess, and I'm trying to protect my father, and at the same time I'm trying to protect myself and my sister.

It is very sad because my father should not be feeling this kind of pressure during his last years. He is 91 years old. My mother had been disabled for more than 20 years. He deserves more than some damned trust and a trustee who is questionable and causing trouble for her own purposes (hoping he dies before the "secret" comes out). It just isn't right and it is making me very upset for him. Say a few prayers for my dad. I hope we can settle this situation and that his last few months with us is worry-free.

[randalljd]

The whole matter could be subject to review by the court and you could even have certain actions undone if need be.