Trusts

[Elk]

Anybody know anything about Trusts?

My late father died in 2000 and had a will & trust drawn up in 1982, at that time his nett worth was rather large. At last after all these years the current estate is now valued at approx 10% of his original nett worth in '82 and is about to be distributed.
The will stated by my mother was to receive 1/3 and the balance was to be put in the Trust.
The Trust beneficiaries are me (a daughter) & my sister along with his female partner. The Trustees are again myself & my sister along with the original solicitor that assisted with the drawing up of the will/trust.

The solicitor is adamant that my late father's partner is entitled to an equal share of the Trust. This I disagree with as the nett value of the Estate is now approx 10% of when the trust was originally drawn up. I believe that my sister & myself should have the right as Trustees to decide who receives what, but I'm unsure where we stand and our actual rights, as the solicitor as a Trustee is siding with my fathers partner that she gets an equal share of the Trust. This really effects my sister & myself when it comes to giving my mother proper care as more than likely my mother will need to cared for fulltime, which we have found out is rather costly.

All advise greatly received.

 

[onq]

The core issue appears to be -

The solicitor is adamant that my late father's partner is entitled to an equal share of the Trust. This I disagree with as the nett value of the Estate is now approx 10% of when the trust was originally drawn up

The inference seems to be that the partners rights to any part of the trust would be void because the the value of the trust has fallen - that doesn't sound like a valid reason.
Whether the partner is entitled to a share of a trust, and/or a part of the estate, as opposed to the proceeds of the estate and whether the trust is part of the estate is the question.
While you are rightly concerned about the ability of yourself and your sister to support your mother it is possible that the partner may also have acquired some rights in relation to the estate.

It appears that you need professional and detailed advice on the Law of Trusts and Inheritance.


ONQ.