Trust, property insurance

The time for termination of the trust and distribution to the beneficiaries will depend on the terms of the trust. If the trust document says that the trust terminates upon your mother's death with trust property distributed in equal shares, then that should happen now that your mother has passed, although the trustee may have legitimate reasons to delay. For example, the trustee may legitimately wait until the time has passed for your mother's creditors to bring claims against her estate and the trust before terminating and distributing trust property. But the terms of the trust might also call for a continuing trust for you for some period of time or for your lifetime. The trust document should say what happens now. As to your specific questions: (i) If your mother was the owner of a small boat and it was registered with insurance in her name, it sounds like the boat was not owned by the Trust at her death. If so, the boat is now part of your mother's probate estate, not the Trust. It will be necessary to open probate of some kind for your mother's executor (personal representative) to transfer the boat from the estate to the Trust. So you are correct that this is not being handled properly. (ii) If the checking account is in your mother's name alone (not in the name of the Trust and not jointly owned with the children), then this too is part of your mother's probate estate and should be transferred to the Trust (assuming that's what the will says). This too should require some kind of probate action because your signing authority should cease upon her death. (iii) The Trust should terminate according to its terms as stated above, with a reasonable allowance for certain delays, such as waiting for the claims period to pass. You and your sibling can use the "Find a Lawyer" tab above to find a local estate administration or probate lawyer to help with the process. Good Luck.

Often in Michigan, cars and boats are not retitled to a trust because there are ways that title can be transferred upon the death of the owner. The Secretary of State office can transfer title of boats under $100,000 I think to the next of kin without probate. Since you are both equally related to your mother, you will want to make sure that gets worked out equitably for both of you. It sounds like your biggest problem is the lack of communication between you and your sister. I would advise trying to resolve that, and if you cannot, then you may wish to consult an attorney to advise you of your options and how much those might cost.

Your questions cannot be answered fully with the facts provided. While it is probable that it was okay to have the trustee insure the vehicle, this would not be proper if the vehicle passed outside of the trust, directly to a joint owner or beneficiary. Being signers on an account may or may not give you any rights following your mother's death. Is the bank aware that your mom has died? How is the account titled? In terms of termination of the trust, there may be administrative tasks that are required, first. Normally, you would publish a notice to creditors to dramatically shorten the statute of limitations for creditor claims. That gives creditors 4 months to present a claim against the trust. There may also be tax or other obligations that need to be taken care of before the trust can be closed. You should work with your sibling to do what you can to help expedite matters. If your sibling does not have an attorney, he or she should strongly consider at least consulting with one, before things are wrapped up. James Frederick