Can Beneficiary of Irrevocable Trust Ask for Trust Accounting? - YouTube

Okay, welcome back today.

I'm joined once again by attorney

Matthew Underwood from Madison Matt, thanks for joining us thanks for having me today.

Tom and today's topic deals with trust accounting so we're coming to you live from the set of

The Office here and it's only a shame we couldn't get Angela or Oscar to join us for this question,

but instead we're going to have to handle it ourselves.

Matt.

Yeah, we'll do the best we can without having the Dunder Mifflin accounting team exactly

well we'll try to handle this one but just accounting is a tricky area so strap in and

here's the question the writer asks it comes from Bay City Wisconsin and the writer asks

the following as one of the beneficiaries of an irrevocable trust, can I ask for an

accounting of the trust checking account?

I believe the trustee is using money from the trust for personal enrichment, for example,

new kitchen cupboards.

I would like to see the transactions of the checking account.

Yeah this is a this is a really good question and it in in my practice and probably in your

yours Tom this is an issue that comes up all the time and I think when we have beneficiaries

that it feel like they're being left out or that they beneficiary feel like they're not

being told everything that's going on.

I think this is exactly what happens where there's now there's some mistrust that starts

to build and now beneficiaries aren't even sure if the trustee is doing the right thing,

so the good thing is that the law did contemplate this and this isn't a new situation.

I mean, there's court cases going back decades probably hundreds of years about these very

sorts of things so under Wisconsin law beneficiaries can actually ask for information from the

trustee and that wouldn't include an accounting of that checking account or any sort of bank

accounts that might be in the trust so under Wisconsin law trustees have a duty to keep

the beneficiaries reasonably informed about the administration of the trust and at least.

Annually that trustee needs to send a report of the trust property and that includes receipts

and disbursements and also a list of trust assets and their values so I think this this

question gets right to it where yes the trustee not only has a duty to carry out those trust

instructions, but the trustee needs to be providing information to those beneficiaries,

so if it if it turns out, you know, a lot of times beneficiaries will ask for information

and the trustees won't provide anything that that's a reason to get your

Attorney involved and force that trustee to turn over some of those records that you're

looking for and verify that the trustee is doing the right thing.

And if it turns out that you review the information and you find out trustee was stealing from

the trust buying, you know things that benefit them and not the beneficiaries.

That's a breach of that trustee's duty, and I think that's a reason to actually look into

removing that trustee and having another trustee come on board who's not going to be doing

some of those things.

So if you if you do feel like you're not receiving information or if you feel like you have some

information but you're starting to see them some things that are wrong reach out to your

attorney and you know, start working with that trustee and make sure things are being

done, right.

And again, this is one of those areas where you don't want to let it go too long, so if

you know if a trust has been open for two years and for two years you had suspicions

that things weren't going right?

It's sometimes harder to go back in fix those mistakes or those things that went wrong so

it's good to catch these.

Early and to basically let the trustee know that hey we're keeping an eye on things

and trustee can't you know start doing things that they shouldn't be doing because it's

just you know, we're keeping an eye and making sure they're doing things right.

Tom do you have any thoughts on what you would suggest or what you tell a beneficiary in

a situation like this?

I think that's spot on Matt and those duties to report are included in the new Wisconsin

Trust Code.

We still call it the new Wisconsin Trust code.

It was adopted July went into effect July 1, 2014, but in the trust world it's relatively

new and so I think the when they drafted the new trust code part of the uniform trust code

that was the thinking is provide some checks and balances on that trustee by doing this

annual reporting to the beneficiaries

So we're answering this question in 2020, so it's likely you're falling under that new

Wisconsin Trust Code but I would say when you go sit down with Matt or another attorney

your estate planning attorney bring a copy of the trust along because there are some dates

if the trust was formed before created before and it was irrevocable before July 2014, it's

possible it doesn't fall under

those reporting requirements.

But the trust itself may provide a reporting requirement in it and a lot of them do.

So, I would just bring that copy of the trust along because your lawyer is going to want

to look at it either way when determining.

When you tell them the facts of this situation try to figure out the best way to go about

seeing what this trustee is up to because as Matt mentioned and what you are mentioning,

it sounds suspicious so definitely you want to get that accounting to determine what's

going on before you'd look at any further steps.

Yeah absolutely and that's a good point Tom is there might be different rules depending

that live in different places so example Tom mentioned the trust code which is Wisconsin

law that has some rules for the trustee to follow but that actual trust document might

have some additional rules for that trustee to follow so trustee might have to be you

know, falling not only Wisconsin law, but also the rules that that that grantor set

up in that trust so I think you're exactly right, you know have to bring a copy of that

trust to your attorney and if you did not receive a copy of that trust.

Again, that's something that the trustee will have to provide.

Well great thank you to the writer for that question about trust accounting Matt thanks

for joining us you always great to be here.

Tom and thank you to the viewers for watching and we'll see you next time.