evil stepdad liquidated the trust my mom left for me when she died..he remarried..what can i do?

Answer 1

Get the trust documents if possible. If he was a trustee, and acted outside of his "fiduciary duties" ie to preserve the assets in the trust, and see to it that the instructions in the trust document were carried out, you may be able to bring civil(sue him for damages) or criminal(send the jerk to jail) charges on him- contact either your local or state bar association,(that's the lawyer's professional society) and ask for the chairman of the "litigation" committee- lawyers have various committees in these bar associations to keep each other informed of developments in various areas of the law-if you contact the head of the litigation committe, you'll get a good lawyer who won't charge you an arm and a leg....

Answer 2

I know this may sound cliche', but, you really do need a lawyer on this one. Obviously, your stepdad violated the terms of your mother's estate, and it doesn't seem reasonable to expect that he is going to make it right on his own. It will take a Court's judgement to order him to pay you the money he misappropriated. You may be able to find a contingency attorney to handle this for you, whereby the attorney will take a percentage of the proceeds you are ordered to receive as his/her fee. Bear in mind that even if the court orders your stepdad to pay you, it will be up to you to pursue it (legally) if he does not pay up. Be prepared to show an attorney every single piece of documentation you can get your hands on, starting with a copy of the trust fund arrangement. Also remember that if you have not yet met the age requirement laid out in the trust fund (for example, if you are currently 18, and the trust was not to come to you until you turn 21), that it is likely that the court will honor those original terms and order your stepdad to make good on restoring the funds to the trust by that time. I doubt the court will order him to pay it to you ahead of time (if you aren't yet at the age set up in the trust). I'm sorry this happened to you. Your stepdad has disgraced your mother's memory, and he should be deeply ashamed of himself. If it can be proven in court that his new wife had anything to do with this, she will be chastised, but, it is ultimately up to your stepdad to put things back where they belong.

Answer 3

If it was really a trust and the funds were improperly dispensed, you should see an attorney. You should get a copy of the trust documents. You may have a claim against your stepdad or even the trustee if he/she/it breached it's fiduciary duty to you, the beneficiary.

Answer 4

wow, talk to a good lawyer to see if you can do anything...that is harsh, although my ex took all the money that was in my sons account too, but it wasn't a trust, just a christmas & birthday money account...but it was up to almost $1000.
That was his own father too!
Best of luck to you!