Dear Penny,
My grandfather worked hard his entire life and eventually became a fairly wealthy man. When he wrote his will, I was just a baby and my little sister had not yet been born. Half of his estate (minus personal property) goes to our mother, and half goes to me. Our mother has told us our whole lives that when the time comes, I am to split my half with my sister.
Unfortunately, the time has come and it appears that the will was written to say my half is actually to go into a trust, which the lawyer will set up once my grandfather’s properties have been sold. Once funded, there will be hundreds of thousands of dollars in it and I will be the sole beneficiary. My mother is to be the trustee.
(This in itself is an issue since we are estranged and she has proved herself to be untrustworthy time and time again when it comes to money. This is not why I am writing you, although I am curious what, if any, rights I have as a beneficiary to ensure she does not just take the money out of the trust for herself.)
I know that I am not legally obligated to share my half with my sister, but how can I? If my mother elects to just disburse the funds all at once (highly unlikely but I suppose is a possibility), how can I give half of my share to my sister?
Lastly,
