Execution of Trust with Contradictory Instructions

• Applicant: Mrs. So
• Country/Region: Taiwan, China
• Case: Trust Execution
• Challenges:
  • So passed away without telling Mrs. So the details of the family trust.
  • There were contradictory instructions against the trust.
  • So was still mourning and understandably very emotional.

BACKGROUND

Mr. and Mrs. So had been married for 20 years and although Mr. So had prepared in case of his death by creating a family trust, he was unable to share the details of the trust with his wife before he passed away. Mrs. So, grieving and mourning her husband’s death, was unsure of what to do, and believed that the best thing would be to transfer her late husband’s trust account to her own name so that she could execute it herself. To navigate through all the confusion and legal work, she came to Tsang & Associates for guidance.

KEYS TO SUCCESS

Because Mrs. So had no idea what Mr. So did with the family trust before he passed away, and because she was still understandably emotional as she mourned her husband’s death, it was very difficult to obtain any additional trust information or documents. By conducting numerous phone calls to the original trust attorney and family members, we discovered that her late husband had actually assigned a trust company to manage the trust and listed Mrs. So as the primary beneficiary. This meant that Mr. So’s instructions were in direct conflict to Mrs. So’s request to transfer the trust account to her name. Although we could contest Mr. So’s wishes in court, we wanted to create a happy balance that brought peace to Mrs. So yet still honored Mr. So’s wishes.

Initially, Mrs. So refused to have the outside trust company manage the trust and remained steadfast that the account should be transferred to her name. She told us that before Mr. So had passed, he had verbally instructed her to execute his trust. What followed were hours of consultations and phone calls with Mrs. So, and we consoled her as we would a counselor. We explained that it was actually in her best interest for her to follow her husband’s instructions; he had set up a company to execute his trust so that she would not have to worry about executing it herself after he passed. After countless sessions, Mrs. So saw the benefits and agreed to have the trust company manage the trust.

OUTCOME

Instead of following Mrs. So’s original request to have Tsang & Associates execute Mr. So’s trust, which we would receive a percentage of, we examined the situation and proceeded in a way that would benefit both Mr. and Mrs. So. We helped Mrs. So tread through the confusion of the trusts’ instructions, and she thanked us profusely for the help and for keeping their interests above ours. Mrs. So’s situation was an opportunity for us to take on the role of a counselor and console her like we would our friend or family member who was going through a difficult time. In the end, Mr. So’s wishes were honored and the trust company executed his trust, Mrs. So was able to find peace and understanding as she continued to mourn the death of her husband, and Tsang & Associates was able to gain the trust of their new friend and add a new member to their family. 

*Name has been changed to protect client identity