I need help understanding wills and trusts.

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aginghelp Asked May 2019

I need help understanding wills and trusts.

My mother is in a memory facility in PA. My father had their Will and AB-Trust prepared and he signed it. All 3 of us children are equal heirs to the estate. Since then my father passed away. The portion of the estate individual owned is in a trust, the other portions are now in my mother's name. My brother is the POA (not sure how). He is not transparent regarding management of the accounts, investments, balances, expenses, statements, etc. I am concerned he is misusing the funds. He does not want to spend my mother's money on her needs. He had my mother sign blank checks. What are my rights? Can I ask for an audit and freeze the accounts? Since my mother did not sign the will and trust, what happens when she dies?

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score 0 · Answer 1

As a beneficiary of the trust, by law you are entitled to see the documents in there entirety, these should clarify who should be handling the trust.

If it is your mom and the attorney and your mom can not act it is the attorney.

I would send a written request for a complete copy of all documents up through and including the date of the request, give them 10 days to comply. Then take everything you have to an estate attorney that can help you understand exactly what should be happening and what you can do.

AB trusts are typically for protecting half the assets from lawsuits, however, they are usually the surviving spouses 100% until they pass, then distribution comes into play. Depending on how it was written your mom didn't need to, nor did she have the capacity according to you to sign anything.

Trusts are very individual and you have to have a professional read and help you.

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score 0 · Answer 2

What type of Memory Care facility did your brother move your Mom into? No matter what type of care facility your Mom is in, she should be sleeping in a bed and not on a cot. If she has legs wounds, then the Memory Care facility should be taking her to the doctor to have the wounds treated.

Look under "Care Topics" on the Blue Ribbon at the top of this website. They have a list of Elder Care Attorneys for each state.

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score 0 · Answer 3

I would make an appointment with an elder attorney to discuss your situation. The first consultation is usually free. You will need to take the paperwork with you. If all of your father's estate went into a trust to support your mother, the assigned trustee is responsible for managing and is not accountable to anyone but the court. If your mother has assets outside the trust, an assigned POA manages those assets on her behalf, and again is not accountable to anyone but the court. It might be worthwhile to sit down with your other siblings and discuss how you all would like to see your mother cared for. Part of that plan involves determining if the financial resources are available long-term. You can ask your POA sibling to provide that information to the rest of you. If you and your siblings were the beneficiaries of your father's will, the assets outside of the trust should have been distributed/probated according to the terms of his will. If the assets went into trust, that trust will be dissolved at the time of your mother's passing.

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score 3 · Answer 4

I'm very unclear on what you are asking.

Your dad had a trust. When he died, were you supposed to receive a distribution from the trust? Did you?

Mom inherited the bulk of dad's estate ( that's usually what happens). Brother is mom's Power of Attorny. Is your brother paying for Memory Care out of mom's funds? In what way is he not using her funds for her care?

A POA has a duty to keep the principal's finances confidential. My brother was my mom's POA, and I never knew anything about mom's money.

Is your mother expressing concerns to you about her finances?

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Thanks for your response. No I never received a distribution from the trust. The individual portion of my dad's trust is now being administrated by Fidelity. My mother and Fidelity are co-trustees. My mom already had very advanced Alzheimer's at the time my father made the trust and will This was diagnosed by the University of Pennsylvania memory facility, brain MRI's, etc. As soon as my dad died my brother told us he was executor. He began paying himself. He had my mom sign a stack of blank checks. I never saw the paperwork saying his is the POA but I know he had her sign checks. He moved her into memory facility. My mother did very well financially, he was her business. I fly to visit her 3x a year. I send a list of what I want changed. She is on a cot. I want her on a real bed. I wanted her to have dentures. Her legs have wounds. She even paid for my nephew to go to medical school and he is a dermatologist. I want her to have care. I am also concerned about the state of the finances. My father's attorney had given each os us a list of assets and told my brother to send us monthly reports. My brother changed the password to the Fidelity account. At one point he lost his job. My mother does not even remember my father anymore. I not only want to protect my mother, I also want to protect her assets. I need advice and I need to know my rights. I need to find a good attorney in PA.

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score 2 · Answer 5

Your post is difficult to understand, and probably this is because you don’t really understand the situation yourself. If you three children are equal heirs to the estate, it’s confusing that some is now in your mother’s name. Has your mother signed her own will? She couldn’t sign your father’s will! The trust situation is equally unclear. The best advice is probably to collect up all the paper work you have and go to see a lawyer. If you can’t afford it, see if there is a community legal service that could at least give you some preliminary advice about what to do. Good luck!

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score 1 · Answer 6

How do you know that he is not spending money on your mother's needs?

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I need help understanding wills and trusts.

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