The Angry Typist

Māmā had not given me a copy of her Last Will and Testament despite me asking multiple times. She certainly did not provide me with a copy of the mysterious Family Trust. At no point did anyone offer me any information as if I should blindly trust them because they said so. Under the guise of needing a copy of the Will to access Māmā’s safe deposit box, I asked AW for a copy of the Will to prove that I am Māmā’s daughter, which he initially ignorantly responded with:

AUGUST 29, 2025 AT 4:09pm AW EMAIL

The will just states that you are the trustee if I’m not available. Nothing in there that says you are the daughter. Currently Daisy is the trustee. Everything goes through Daisy. I’ll send you a copy of the will later today or tomorrow. May be Daisy can have access to the box once she receives the death certificate 

Just FYI: ALL Wills will clearly state the Will’s spouse and children within the first 3 articles on the first page (typically).

On a whim, I picked one of DW’s many calls to keep the pleasantries because I needed a copy of the Family Trust. And it was through one of these many painfully frustrating interactions that I discovered which life insurance company I had to file a claim.

Among some of the things I grabbed I found a blank check and was able to track down the bank the safe deposit only to discover that it was a ‘solo-owned’ account and safe deposit box with no alternative authorized signatories or co-owners. At this point I knew that we would be heading to probate court and that Māmā’s attorney would be sending me paperwork to waive my rights.

I had looked up the county auditor website and confirmed that the house was never in my name but in care of the Family Trust.

Māmā had mentioned in passing that she had designated AW and his daughter, VL (my cousin – who we haven’t seen since she was 8 or 9 years old) as alternate Trust successors and power of attorney (POA). I tried to explain to Māmā that my hands would be tied. Unless AW and/or VL declined their role, I would not have any legal authority to do anything for anyone. Māmā brushed off my concerns with, “it will be fine.”

It was more important than ever to get a copy of that Family Trust.