23 Mar How can I get senior community to release assets to this trust?

Q. My father had all of his assets in a trust. I am the only surviving trustee. He had lived in an independent living community and I have been waiting for them to turn over the unit so that I can get the money owed. They now have a check made out to his estate but won’t turn it over to me until I file with the surrogate’s office in their county. One of the purposes of putting all assets in a trust is to avoid probate. Can they withhold the check?
— Frustrated

A. A lot may depend on the specifics.

Some of these communities don’t make it easy.

If the unit was titled in the name of the trust and all contracts with the community were entered into with the trust, then it seems reasonable to expect that the payment would be made to the trust, said Steven Holt, an attorney and chair of the taxation, trusts and estates department at Mandelbaum Barrett PC in Roseland.

However, he said, the agreements and other governing instruments of the community may provide for different rules and procedures.

In terms of probate, only the personal representative designated in the will can act on behalf of the estate.

“But again, the party that needs to do the right thing is the community and either it apparently does not understand the concept of the trust ownership or it has rules that require the appointment of a personal representative in New Jersey,” Holt said. “The solution here is to reach out to the community and have them explain why they are asking for this and alert them to the fact that the unit is held in a trust.”

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This story was originally published on March 23, 2022.

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