Can't name my own beneficiary of a trust? Now what?
My father left me a small trust. I recently was working on my will and decided that I wanted to just name a beneficiary on the trust. So I asked for a form.
This is what the bank officer told me:
"There are no beneficiary forms for trusts. The trust document (almost always) directs where the assets are to go upon your death. In the case of the trust for your benefit, this is less clear as the drafting attorney neglected to mention the ultimate disposition of the trust assets in the trust document and subsequent amendments. As a result, most likely distribution would go to the lineal descendants of [my father]. Given the lack of final dispositive language in the trust for your share, the Bank may look to the Court for approval of the ultimate distribution if needed at some point in the future."
HUH? Will my will be able to name who gets it?
PS: This is a small town bank and I have had nothing but stuff like this since way before each of my parents died.