ADVERTISEMENT



Google       

Home -> Law Blog Directory -> Taxation & Estate Planning Blogs -> The Ohio Trust & Estate Blog

OR PHONE (866) 635-1838 for Bankruptcy Help, (866) 635-6190 for Divorce,
(866) 635-2689 for Personal Injury or (866) 635-9402 for Criminal Defense

Find a Local Lawyer

Bankruptcy (866) 635-1838
Divorce (866) 635-6190
Personal Injury (866) 635-2689
Criminal Defense (866) 635-9402

Bookmark

Taxation & Estate Planning

: The Ohio Trust & Estate Blog

Bo Schembechler Trust Battle

By michael

ADVERTISEMENTS

Andrew Mayoras posts a good story here about Bo Schembechler’s son suing his step-mom over his dad’s trust.

Andrew writes:

From an estate planning perspective, Bo did everything right to avoid a family fight after he passed.  He created a living trust, which was quite detailed and left the income from his assets to his wife, Kathryn, passing from there to his son Glenn III (known as “Shemy”), and then onto his grandchildren and Kathryn’s grandchildren. 

He chose Kathryn as his successor trustee to manage his trust after he passed. From an estate planning perspective, Bo did everything right to avoid a family fight after he passed.  He created a living trust, which was quite detailed and left the income from his assets to his wife, Kathryn, passing from there to his son Glenn III (known as “Shemy”), and then onto his grandchildren and Kathryn’s grandchildren. 

He chose Kathryn as his successor trustee to manage his trust after he passed.
Sounds fine to me…  Apparently though the trust was specific that Kathryn had to report on the trust’s assets every so often to Shemy which, according the to the complaint (which is available here as a PDF) she hasn’t been doing.
Shemy’s case is bolstered by Ohio Revised Code Section 5808.13 which requires a Trustee to “keep the current beneficiaries of the trust reasonably informed about the administration of the trust and of the material facts necessary for them to protect their interests” by annually sending to all “the current benficiaries, and to other beneficiaries who request it, at least annually and at the termination of the trust, a report of the trust property, liabilities, receipts, and disbursements, including the source and amount of the trustee?s compensation, a listing of the trust assets, and, if feasible, the trust assets? respective market values.”
According to the complaint, Kathryn hasn’t disclosed anything since Bo’s death in 2006.  Oops.
This one seems pretty open and shut to me.  I have to say though, its an awfully gentle complaint.  There’s only one count that asks the court to force Kathryn to render an accounting (and for attorney’s fees obviously) but they don’t ask to have Kathryn removed.  Under these circumstances that’s usually my first advice…  Considerations of family harmony, who the named Successor Trustee is, the procedure for replacing Trustees, etc., are additional bits of info that I’m ignorant about so the gentle approach may be appropriate here…  But once you’ve sued someone in federal court you’re usually not also thinking about what to get them for christmas, especially when christmas is about a month away.
Despite coaching “that team up north” for many years, Coach Schembechler’s ties to Columbus, Ohio run deep.  I was dissapointed to see this happening but I wish Shemy well in his apparent efforts to honor his father’s testamentary wishes.  That being said, I wish both parties luck in holding the family together. 
And ok, that being said, I’m still looking forward to OSU kicking the holy hell out of Michigan this weekend.  O-H!

Full post as published by The Ohio Trust & Estate Blog on November 17, 2009 (boomark / email).

Bloggers, promote your law blog by nominating your blog for inclusion in USLaw.com's Law Blog Directory and RSS Reader. Benefits described.
Lawsuits and Settlements

Sheriff Interfered With Custody Battle
Greene County to pay $85,000 settlement in trespassing lawsuit.

Sea Star Agrees $18.5M Settlement in Anti-trust Class Action
Sea Star Agrees $18.5M Settlement in Anti-trust Class Action

Atlas Cold Storage
Income Trust to pay $40 million to settle a class action that claims misrepresented financial statements.

Securities Settlement
GMH Trust Securities to pay $8.75 million in pending class action suit.

Related Searches

























































































































US Law
#1 Online Legal Resource













Your Blog Subscriptions
Subscribe to blogs

10,000+ Law Job Listings
Lawyer . Police . Paralegal . Etc
Earn a law-related degree
Are you the author of this blog? Adding USLaw.com to your Blogroll increases relevance. You qualify to display a USLaw Network badge.
Suggest changes to this blog's description or nominate another for inclusion. Register for updates.


Practice Area
Zip Code:

Contact a Lawyer Now!






0.0167 secs (new cache)