Is it legal for my sister to have given all our parents personal belongings to Goodwill without advising me first?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
Is it legal for my sister to have given all our parents personal belongings to Goodwill without advising me first?
My sister is the trustee but there is no mention of disposing of personal belongings. She let me into the house approximately 4 months after our father died and the house was cleaned out. No personal belongings from my mother or father were left. There is a piano with great sentimental value to me (I am the only child that plays the piano) and she said I am not allowed to have it because our father left it to my nephew. There is no letter or documentation from our parents that states that. Would that not be a part of the trust?
Asked on June 6, 2012 under Estate Planning, Arizona
Answers:
FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 11 years ago | Contributor
Whether or not your sister is the trustee under your parents' trust, if the items that were given away were assets of the trust and were to have been given to its benficiariaries, what she did was improper and a breach of her fiduciary duties to you, others and the trust.
I would call her on what she did without getting permission in disposing of the items that were disposed of.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.