TRUST HEIRS vs BROTHER TRUSTEE
Oct 01, 2014OUTCOME: The disproportionate trust distribution held
I represented an elderly man with a very large estate which had been put into a living trust to avoid probate. He had four children and did not want to leave the trust assets equally to his four childr ... en for various reasons. I advised him that the law does not require equal division of one's estate and trust but that appropriate documentation is needed to make the plan stick after he was gone.I prepared a trust amendment leaving a disproportionate share of his estate to the child he selected to be the successor trustee. They tell me the other three children were going to file a lawsuit and contest this and spend tens of thousands of dollars doing so. To bolster what he was doing I took various steps to be able to prove his mental competency. I had him visit with his CPA to discuss the trust distribution and taxes and at my request the CPA wrote a memorandum to the file to the effect that he definitely knew what he was doing and intended to favor one child over the other. Before having an sign the trust amendment I faxed him a copy of it so that he had some time to review it before actually signing. I also prepared other documentation which he signed stating that he understood what the distribution of percentages work. He also saw a doctor on a regular basis who is able to determine that he was mentally competent and that Dr. was available to testify if necessary. Shortly after the trust amendment was signed, he passed away and as predicted the children filed a lawsuit claiming that he was mentally incompetent. The lawsuit was settled because the children filing a lawsuit, after having taken my deposition and the accountants deposition and the doctors deposition saw that there was no way they're going to get the court to say that he was mentally incompetent.
