Discretionary trust

[Uncle bob]

Hi
My grandad set up a trust for his handicapped daughter. He is now deceased and left a lump sum to be added to the trust. A few months later the daughter died. My question would be can we stop the money going to trust as the primary purpose of the trust has been fulfilled. It's taken nearly a year to discover who the trustees were as the original ones were deceased. One is an accountant the other is the owner of the home that the daughter was in ( classed as a charity) is this jot a conflict of interest?. On the trust document the only living beneficiaries are the settlers son my dad his sons and or daughters( just me and my brother) and charity. My dad has tried to contact the trustees, but gets no response, as they are always in a meeting or on a break etc etc.
Now he has had a call from a solicitor stating that they are waiting for the funds from my grandads estate and he may get the executor removed as they haven't responded to letters (although they state they haven't had a letter).
What are our rights as beneficiaries if we still are? Maybe the document has changed and we've been removed , is this possible? If we are still beneficiaries can we close the trust and distribute the funds, as we are the only living beneficiary's or does the charity beneficiary stop us doing that. No specific charity is stipulated in the trust document. We really just want some transparency on what is happening and what the intentions are now that my aunty has passed away. Could they give all the money to charity and if so surely not all to the charity the trustee runs as surely that is a conflict of interest?
Sorry if I rambled on, just really frustrated for my dad who just wants this all settling.

[enaid]

Re: Discretionary trust

Hi and welcome, I will give [MENTION=85500]Peridot[/MENTION] a shout see if she can spread some light on this for you

[Peridot]

Re: Discretionary trust

Hi Uncle Bob,
It will very much depend on the wording of the trust that was set up by your granddad in his Will. Do you have a copy of his Will? When did he pass away? It may be worth getting a free half hour with a solicitor to establish what the options are. A deed of variation can be made within a couple of years of your grandfather's passing but this will also depend on whether the trust was actually utilised.
The exact wording of the discretionary trust in the Will is important also whether he left any directions (separate to the Will) as to how the discretionary trust should operate.
Sorry I can't be more specific, but it is down to the exact wording of the Will.

[Uncle bob]

Re: Discretionary trust

Hi,

Thank you for responding. The trust was set up in 1994 and was active as it was being used to pay the care home. My granddad past almost 12 months ago. The will stipulated the funds would transfer to the trust, unless she had died prior to him, in which instance the money would go to the great grand children.
I think the issue is the lack of communication from the trustees. When asked they implied they didn't know who the trustees were and now several months later we've discovered they are the trustees. They don't return calls and are always unavailable when we phone or go to see them at their place of work.
I suppose the 3 questions are?
Do we have grounds to challenge the monies going to the trust? Although this may not be an issue if the monies are to come back into the family
How do we clarify what the plan is with the trust now that my aunty is deceased when the trustees have closed all channels of communication?
Could they just give all monies to charity as charity is listed as one of the beneficiaries? The others being my dad, brother and myself who have never received any monies. It also had my aunty listed as something default in the trust document, I can't remember the exact phrase as I don't have the document in front of me.
Maybe we just need to get a solicitor to send a few letters? I suppose we don't want to challenge or upset anyone unless necessary, but with the lack of transparency I think it may be our only option.

[Joanna C]

Re: Discretionary trust

I think you would probably be better making an appointment with a local solicitor who I am sure will give you initial advice. The solicitor will then have the documentation to look at.

[Peridot]

Re: Discretionary trust

Hi,

So the trust was not a trust created by your grandfather's Will but created before he died. You need to get any trust documentation and the copy Will together in order to get some legal advice. Technically the monies from your grandfather's estate should go into the trust as I understand that your Aunt died after him? The trust deed should indicate what happens following your Aunt's death and it may be that the trust is ended and the remaining funds paid to the great grandchildren, but you do need some proper face to face advice on this.

I'm sure as Joanna C indicated, a local solicitor should be able to point you in the right direction, but make sure you take any copy documentation that you have with you.