The above audio is an excerpt from my January 2015 appearance on the Think Radio Program “In Legal Terms” which is part of the Mississippi Public Broadcasting Network.

“My husband died seven (7) years ago. I am a beneficiary of a trust created by my deceased husband of which I have a copy. I have never been able to get the Trustee to provide me with an accounting of the trust or an explanation of the trust. The Trustee lives in Virginia. What can I do?”

You know you are the beneficiary of the trust and you have stated that you have a copy of the Trust Agreement. A maker of a trust (e.g. your deceased husband) can put provisions in the trust such that the Trustee does not have to report or provide accountings to a Court or the beneficiary of the trust. However, beneficiaries of a trust normally have a right to know the assets of a trust, where such assets are being held, and how such assets are being managed and distributed. A beneficiary is able to file a Petition with the applicable Chancery/Probate Court to force the Trustee to provide such information, and the legal fees and expenses of such Petition to the Court may be ordered by the Court to be paid from the trust or by the Trustee.