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Clemenza Concierge

Wills, trusts and inheritances

The person in charge of the money isn't acting like it belongs to others

Your sister is the trustee. She lives in the house rent-free, won't send statements, and answers every question with "it's handled." Or a cousin held your father's power of attorney, and the accounts were nearly empty by the time he died.

Executors, trustees and people acting under a power of attorney are all fiduciaries: people the law requires to act in someone else's interest rather than their own, with care, honesty and openness. When they take money or let it drain away, the people they serve have ways to make them explain and, where the facts support it, repay. We look at cases where there's money to get back.

Tell us what happened

Who owes these duties

An executor (sometimes called a personal representative) gathers a dead person's assets, pays debts and distributes what is left under the will. A trustee manages property held in a trust for the beneficiaries named in it. An agent under a power of attorney handles someone's finances while they're alive, under a document they signed. The details differ, but each must put the interests of the people they serve ahead of their own.

What going wrong usually looks like

Honest mistakes happen, and a slow estate isn't always a mishandled one. These are the patterns that tend to need a closer look:

  • Using estate or trust property for themselves, or selling it to themselves or their friends.
  • Mixing estate or trust money with their own.
  • Paying themselves fees or expenses that were never approved.
  • Moving a parent's money to themselves under a power of attorney.
  • Letting value drain away: a house left empty and deteriorating, accounts never collected, taxes left unpaid.
  • Refusing to share statements, inventories or basic information while any of this goes on.

Asking for a full account

One of the most useful tools a beneficiary has is the right to an accounting: a formal written report of everything the fiduciary received, spent and still holds, with records to back it up. If a fiduciary won't provide one voluntarily, courts can often order it. An accounting can answer the question on its own, one way or the other.

What a court can do

Depending on the state and the facts, a court may order the fiduciary to repay what was lost, deny them fees, freeze assets, or remove them and appoint someone else. None of this is automatic, and the court will want evidence, which is why careful records of what you've asked for and what you've been told matter from the start.

What helps to have ready

  • The will, trust document or power of attorney that gave the person their role.
  • Any court papers appointing an executor or administrator, with the case number.
  • Every statement, inventory or update you've received, however partial.
  • Your written requests for information, and any replies.
  • What you know about the assets and what has happened to each of them.
  • Bank records or other evidence of transfers that concern you, if you have lawful access to them.

Where we fit in

A lawyer at our firm looks at your case. If we take it and another firm is better placed to lead it day to day, we choose that firm from firms we have vetted for their expertise and track record, and we stay responsible for your case with them.

Questions people ask

The executor is my sibling. Do I have to sue family?

Not necessarily straight away. Often the first step is a formal request for information or an accounting, and some of these disputes settle once the numbers are on the table. The lawyer who handles your case can suggest steps in proportion to what you've seen.

My parent is still alive and a relative controls their money. Can I act?

Possibly. Many states let family members ask a court to require an agent under a power of attorney to account, and some let a court appoint a guardian or conservator in serious cases. If you believe an older person is being exploited now, you can also report it to adult protective services in their state.

Can an executor be paid for their work?

Usually, yes. The law generally lets fiduciaries be paid for their work, often at a rate set by statute or by the document itself. The question is whether what they took was allowed, and whether they did the job.

More about wills, trusts and inheritances

This page explains things in general terms. It is not legal advice about your situation, and the law differs from state to state.