Wills: Confidentiality and granularity

[Sidewinder]

My uncle passed away two months ago and I received in the mail from a law firm a letter explaining that I was a beneficiary.  A copy of the will (five or six pages long) was included, as was a separate (as in not-stapled-to-the-will) document, "First Amendment to the Total Amendment and Restatement of the [Sidewinder's uncle] Trust," dated June 28, 2023.

 

Part of it goes:

 

"I. Article 5 - Distribution of Income and Principal After Death of the Trustor.  This Article 5 shall be deleted in its entirety and the following shall be inserted in its stead"

 

Then, see, there's a section 5.1 that grants the Trustee discretion to use the estate to cover final expenses, 5.2 says "the Trustee shall make the following specific bequests from the estate" - and then proceeds to name like no specific bequests whatsoever, and 5.3 says that "If Sidewinder is then living, the Trustee shall set aside 40% of the Trust estate that shall be retained, in Trust, for his benefit." It specifies the schedule on which that is to be distributed to me.

 

Nowhere in the main will was anyone named other than the Trustee and the Executor of the estate.  My uncle had no children, I and my sister and her two children were his only surviving blood relatives.  I severely doubt that my sister was iced out of the will.  I'm assuming that the law firm sent her what they sent me, except maybe without that first amendment and instead with, say, a second amendment laying out what she gets & when.  If I'm right about this, then is it the case that since the first amendment named me and no one else, it is confidential, between me, the Trustee, and the attorneys?  Such that if Sis asks either of them "is my brother mentioned in the will or in an amendment thereto?" they're not allowed to answer?

 

I'm not interested in finding out what Sis gets (and that's if I'm right that she gets anything at all; that there is an additional amendment naming her); I expect she's mildly interested in finding out if I get anything so that she can call me and accuse me of mismanaging it more than six months before I've even received a penny of it, because she has engaged in that kind of paternalistic bull s # !t  before. 

 

Also I just like the idea of her not knowing indeed whether I get a red penny.  Our mother didn't mention me at all in her will and I wasn't expecting her to; she and I despised each other.  Our dad didn't "mention me in his will" because the penniless putz died without a dime to his name, and - to my considerable surprise - my grandmother - mother to my mom and the aforementioned uncle - didn't mention me at all in her will either.  That surprised the heck out of me because I was and still am unaware of any bad blood between us; I flew out to her place (uncle lived with her as her caregiver) to celebrate her 95th and 98th (and final) birthdays with her.

 

I like the idea of Sis just not knowing whether I've been left high and dry by this family for the 4th time in a row.  Sis was spoiled beyond rotten into her 30's and I was making my own way in the world on $6/hour with five roommates when I hadn't turned 20 yet.  At this point in life I don't want "monetary revenge" but I must say I wouldn't mind her at least being perturbed.

[Why Chat]

I am saddened and concerned that the bulk of your inheritance consists of bitterness and bad memories. I sincerely hope that you have learned to be a better person than your family members were. 

[Sidewinder]

On 4/17/2024 at 7:17 AM, Why Chat said:

I am saddened and concerned that the bulk of your inheritance consists of bitterness and bad memories. I sincerely hope that you have learned to be a better person than your family members were. 

 

hmmmm... I guess I did kind of do some unburdening there, innit.  Sorry about that  : /

 

I wrote that 5am when I was in a hurry to get a lot done before the day started; didn't spend as much time paring the post down as I should've.  (As the saying goes, if I had more time I'd write a shorter letter.)

 

The nut of the post is, how confidential are wills; and can they even be sectioned off ("First Amendment") such that certain sections are confidential between different parties?  Is it illegal for the law firm to show Sis - who, I presume, is a beneficiary of the estate - that First Amendment, that only lays out my haul?

 

Is it illegal for them to tell her even that I am mentioned in the will (if only in a amendment)?

 

Is it illegal for the trustee/executor to disclose this?

 

(I have my reasons - childish ones - for kinda wanting for my sis to not have any idea whether I was mentioned or not.)

 

[Why Chat]

Before probate is granted, only the executors named in the will can read it. The executors have the discretion to decide whether to disclose the will to any potential beneficiary. Once probate is granted and the will becomes a public document, anyone who requests a copy can obtain it from the Probate Registry. 

[greendeh]

@Sidewinder

 

There is a difference between how a will and a trust is handled after death. Also, the laws "will" vary from state to state. The only way to get a proper answer to your questions are to ask an estate attorney from the state your uncles trust is in. I think the best place to start is to ask these questions to the law firm that is handling your uncles estate.

[Sidewinder]

On 4/20/2024 at 1:24 PM, Why Chat said:

Before probate is granted, only the executors named in the will can read it. The executors have the discretion to decide whether to disclose the will to any potential beneficiary. Once probate is granted and the will becomes a public document, anyone who requests a copy can obtain it from the Probate Registry. 

 

Which, is what I said basically.

 

Actually the letter from the law firm stated that the main reason for the Trust was "to avoid probate" so I wonder how that affects the will's potential public documenthood.

 

On 4/21/2024 at 6:37 PM, greendeh said:

@Sidewinder

 

There is a difference between how a will and a trust is handled after death. Also, the laws "will" vary from state to state. The only way to get a proper answer to your questions are to ask an estate attorney from the state your uncles trust is in. I think the best place to start is to ask these questions to the law firm that is handling your uncles estate.

 

I am in that state now.

 

But, there's like, casinos and showgirls all over the place...

 

: /

[Why Chat]

My apology for missing the fact that it is a trust and not a will. However, even if there is no way your relatives can access the terms they will surely be able to discover the RESULTS of any inheritance you receive-Plus unless the trustee has specifically told you who or what gets the other 60% or how the trust is instructed to distribute YOUR 40 percent, you may be missing the reality of the situation in your quest for retribution.

[Sidewinder]

On 4/29/2024 at 11:04 AM, Why Chat said:

My apology for missing the fact that it is a trust and not a will. However, even if there is no way your relatives can access the terms they will surely be able to discover the RESULTS of any inheritance you receive-Plus unless the trustee has specifically told you who or what gets the other 60% or how the trust is instructed to distribute YOUR 40 percent, you may be missing the reality of the situation in your quest for retribution.

 

Retribution schmetribution; I can't believe I was ever even thinking this way.  : /