Do trusts over-ride wills?

SLOGUE

I’m not sure if this the right place to ask; 
I’m a joint executor with my half sister on my dads & step mums will. 

When my dad passed away my step mum put the property in trust to my half sister without me knowing about it. And also took power of attorney without me knowing about it. 

does it not mean anything to be joint executor? Surely I should’ve been power of attorney also? Is there any point in a will if someone can make a trust? 

Seems very unfair. 

My half sister spent all the money in my dad’s bank account while my step mum was still alive. & now the property is up for sale?
trust says I will only benefit if she passes away whilst she still owns property? 

I’m confused. Many thanks for any advice.

mattojgb

I think the main question is who were the beneficiaries of your dad's will? It also depends on how the property was owned - joint tenants or tenants in common, and also whether bank accounts were in joint or sole names. Am I right in thinking both your dad and step mum have now passed?

If everything was left to your step-mum on your father's death, then it would be straightforward for her to subsequently disinherit step-children.

As for PoA that is an entirely separate affair.

tacpot12

It is your Mum's decision as to what she does with her property, including what she has inherited from your Dad, if he left his property to her. (To answer your question; Trusts don't override Wills and Wills don't override Trusts. You can't make a Will to leave assets that are already owned by a Trust to someone else - it's like trying to leave your neighbour's cat to someone. Similarly, if the Will leaves money to a person, this might create a Trust, e.g. if the person is under 18, but the Trust isn't overruling the Will, it is the result that the person making the Will wanted to have.)

Similarly with the Power of Attorney. It's down to the person making the Power of Attorney to decide who they want to act for them if they lose capacity.

SLOGUE

My dad and step mum had joint accounts, they shared everything, my dad always said there was Inherritence from my mum (who sadly passed away when I was 16) that I would get on his passing, but I’ve been left out of everything. I am joint executor and benneficary of the will my dad and step mum wrote.
so a trust can be made out to one child regardless if both are joint executors on a will?
Can I do anything about it? Is it legal?
many thanks for your replies 🙂

lr1277

Assuming your step mum died after your dad, you are dependent on the generosity of the other beneficiaries to give you a slice of what they receive. They may not be willing to do that. If they agree to give you something this has to be done with a deed of Variation which I think has to be completed within 2 years of the death.

And an important point. A POA is only valid whilst the donor is still alive. The POA dies when the donor dies.

A will kicks in when the writer of the will dies.

Edited.

mattojgb

If you were a beneficiary of your dad's will then you should have received whatever was left to you in his will.

your step mum could do what she liked with anything left to her.

RAS

Your dad and step mum didn't write a will. They both wrote wills. Have you actually seen them? What did they say?

The impact of those depends who died first? Sounds like dad? And how the property was owned?

If dad's will left everything to your step-mum then she can do with it what she wants, including re-writing her will.

If the house was owned as tenants in common (check the land registry), then step mum may (or may not) have been left a life interest in dad's part of the house, with you are the remainderman? If it was joint tenants, then step-mum became the sole tenant on dad's death, whatever his will said.

With respect to joint accounts, dad couldn't leave them to anyone, as step-mum would become the sole account holder on his death.

Blue_Butterfly

As others have said joint bank accounts and property owned as joint tenants are inherited automatically by the surviving co owner, rather than under the terms of the will. The survivor is then legally able to spend or gift what they have inherited. They can also change their will, unless it was a (rarely used now) mutual will.
An item or money that is bequeathed in a will can only be inherited if the deceased still owned it at the time of death.

I think the trust made during your stepmothers lifetime passed the ownership of the house to the Trust, which would be legal if she had inherited it as the surviving joint tenant. It would mean that she no longer owned it at the time of death. I totally agree that this is unfair to you, and not what your father intended. I wondered why the SM didn;t achieve the same effect of bypassing you by changing her will. I suspect it was either a mutual will or she made a promise to your father not to change the will, stuck to that but totally changed what was intended!