The Angry Typist

I maintained enough pleasantries to leaving with a copy of all Māmā’s legal documents from my end of September visit.

Over the next 3 weeks I had to reach out to five different local law firms before I found an attorney who genuinely wanted to provide substantive answers rather than collecting a large retainer and pursuing litigation. She gave legal advice that was best for me and did not encourage contesting either the Will or the Trust.

The cost to contest a Will is between $15,000 to $25,000, typically with a $3,000-$5,000 retainer in state probate court. The cost to contest a Trust starts at $35,000 with a minimum retainer of $10,000 in state superior court.

Even if I had that sort of disposable income, the likelihood of winning is too low to justify the amount of money I would have to spend. Will or Trust contestation is rarely advisable unless the assets are well in the millions. Litigation is expensive and it would not secure Daniel’s future.

Even though I have enough commercial contract experience to make out the jist, there were dots I could not connect on my own. I had no choice but to spend a total of $750.00 with two different attorneys to have the Trust broken down for me.

The Facts:

• Māmā had left everything to the Trust
• DW is the only beneficiary of the Trust (she gets everything – money, house, contents of the safe deposit box, etc.)
• DW is the sole Trustee of the Trust (she controls everything)
• Even if DW resigned as Trustee, AW and VL are in line ahead of me to be successor Trustees
• The designated distribution percentages of 10% to AW; 45% to the Special Needs Trust (for Daniel); and 45% to me is on the premise that there will be something left in the Trust after DW’s passing. The caveat is that if DW lives another 10 years and completely drains the Trust, 45% of Zero = ZERO
• Even if there are remaining assets to transfer to the Special Needs Trust, AW & VL are the successor Trustees to control Daniel’s fate
• There is no language in the Will or the Trust which requires Daniel to be moved
• There is no language in the Will or the Trust that has set aside any funds to move Daniel

DW at one of her many tantrums wanted to immediately sell the house and keep 50% of the sale to move into a senior community. However, after doing some research, she concluded that it would be more ‘economical’ for her to stay in a mortgage-free home.

However, this same logic is not being applied to Daniel even though he is 34 years her junior. And somehow by magic he is supposed to be able to live in assisted living facility to the end of his days on $5,000, or $10,000, or $70,000, or $80,000 that DW wanted to wire to me RIGHT NOW.

DW & AW’s con here is to dupe me into taking Daniel with some nominal cash probably with the ‘promise’ of a monthly stipend only to never be heard from again once he is moved. But their gross miscalculation is that I am not Māmā and I am not going to do anything to my own or my family’s detriment.

Honestly, I don’t know if Māmā was speaking nonsense when she said the house was in my name so that I can look after Daniel – like AI hallucinations. Or whether Māmā truly believed what she was saying to be true and it this was all DW’s doing. As far as I know, the law firm did not hire a non-partisan translator for Māmā and solely relied on DW to be the translator.

I can foresee DW telling Māmā that yes, Julie & Daniel gets everything in Mandarin then turn around and tells the attorney in English that Māmā wanted to give her everything and no one would be the wiser. Again, this would be gross negligence on the part of the law firm but it would be highly challenging and expensive to pursue.