I just want to put this out there. I'm not a fan of lawyers. They have a place in our society and can be useful on some occasions, and I hope I get a good one if I ever need one, but in this instance, there seems to be something very wrong in my opinion.
From what I can tell, my grandparents created a trust agreement in 1992 in order to leave parcels of land and personal property to their five children. In 1992, my grandfather was already 85 years old. I'm no lawyer or expert, but it appears each of their trusts left everything to the remaining spouse if one dies before the other. In this case, my grandmother died in 1994, which makes my Grandfather 87 years old, at which time he becomes the sole heir to all said property.
My issue is with the attorney who set up these trusts. At 87 years old, what sort of mental capacity was my grandfather working under? He was a sharp man, very smart, but we all fade with time. What kind of lawyer allows changes to be made to a trust after the fact? And by someone who just might not have all his faculties when it comes to money? What kind of lawyer didn't create some kind of checks and balances when we're talking about an 87 year old man worth aproximately $3M in land, which was to be left to his five children? With an estate that size, why was only one person named as a trustee? For a smart man, my grandfather was out of his realm in this, maybe he didn't listen to his lawyer and insisted on having his own way.
In 2007, my grandfather to add his grandson as a trustee, AND agreed to immediately sell said grandson all his land for $800/acre. I'm sure in 2007 land was worth more than that. FFS, my grandfather was 100 years old at the time. In my book, this should all have been illegal, or certainly gone over with someone other than the grandson who's getting rich. Is there not some kind of age clause, a dual signee clause, surely there should have been some kind of checks and balances.
I know that no matter what, people are 'funny' when it comes to money, family or not.
This is a very good example of why I don't trust lawyers. I'm sure the original lawyer made a pretty penny setting up a $3M trust. What he left was a mess. It created a huge rift within the family. I've not seen or spoke to my Uncle or cousins in more than 15 years.
Some people quote the Bible as saying "money is the root of all evil" but it's the love of money that's at the root of it all. May my Uncle Robert, cousin Ronald and their families rue the day, and suffer the consequences, having full knowledge that they took the wishes of my grandparents and wiped the slate clean, allowing only themselves to reap all the benefits. May they pass from this life to the next without real family love.
I will probably pass this life a pauper,
but my kids won't have to fight each other for anything of value,
and will remain a loving family.
2 comments:
Your only real option at this point, and I know one you won't like, is to retain another attorney to joust for you in court.
The grounds for such legal action would be that the grandson who got to buy that land for $800/acre and the attorney who got your grandfather to rewrite his trust at a very advanced age exerted "undue influence" to have your grandfather make decisions not in his best interest or the other heirs claimants in the trust.
I'm not an attorney myself, but that's what I've seen happen before.
coonass ... You're right, that's the only option, and one the entire family pursued. It was an all out battle that was never righted. We finally gave up.
Just my rant on a really bad situation, and a commentary on what a shame it is that money makes people funny - putting it above family and relationships. And a dig to the lawyer who created the trust in such a way that it allowed those changes to be made.
Thanks for leaving a note :)
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