My dad passed away 6 months ago. He was divorced from my mom, and now her brother is appealing to remain as trustee. Can this be prevented?
November 3, 2025
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Since he was appointed during the marriage, the beneficiaries have a strong claim to have him removed as Trustee and ask the court to appoint a new Trustee.
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My dad passed away 6 months ago. He was divorced from my mom, and now her brother is appealing to remain as trustee of my father’s testamentary trust for the children. Is this a conflict of interest?
I’m sorry to hear about the passing of your father. Can you provide more details about the terms of your father’s testamentary trust and why your uncle is appealing to remain as trustee?
My uncle said he is “just the front man” for the appeal and that it’s what my mom wants. I have this on video recording. I have the will, but I don’t know if it’s valid anymore.
Have there been any previous disputes or conflicts between your uncle and other beneficiaries of the trust?
No, but I seek to understand my options in contesting this.
Is there anything else the estate lawyer should know before I connect you? Rest assured they’ll be able to help with contesting the trust.
Yes.
My name is Jessica, and I am a licensed attorney who will be assisting you. I am reviewing your question and will provide a response momentarily. You may receive a prompt for a telephone consultation — it’s an optional service and you can decline.
I’m so sorry for your loss. Did your father appoint your uncle as Trustee after the divorce was finalized?
The will is over 20 years old and remained unchanged for that amount of time. He was appointed as trustee at that time — not at the time of divorce.
Since he was appointed during the marriage, the beneficiaries have a strong claim to have him removed as Trustee and ask the court to appoint a new Trustee.
Ok, that’s good news. Can you go over my letters I have to try and contest that? Additionally, the trust that I speak of was only testamentary and never funded. Do I have an argument for the trust to be omitted from the will entirely?
It depends. Does the trust state the money is to be held until the beneficiaries reach a certain age?
Yes. The theoretical money is to be held in trust, with beneficiaries receiving half at 30 and the other half at 40. There’s also language that says the trust will pay for living expenses, education, healthcare, other reasonable comforts, etc. But like I said, there was not any money put into the trust in those 20+ years.
Ok, are all of the beneficiaries over 40?
No, we are 17 and 20 (my birthday is in one week).
Ok, then the money must be held in trust.
Is there an argument for the will being invalid at this point?
Was he incompetent when he signed it?
No.
Then the will is valid unless you can prove he didn’t understand what he was signing.
Okay, thanks for that clarification. My mother was named as executor in the original will. So will it just be rewritten without her included on that part? Also, I believe it’s best that I serve as executor. Is that true, given that I was his next of kin and first-born son?
If he was not remarried and you are over 18, then you may ask the court to appoint you as executor.
I hope I was able to help resolve your issue! If you have any other questions, feel free to ask.
