Rosharon, TX Estate Planning Law Firms & Lawyers

First, I need to clarify some terminology. An executor is the person designated to handle the financial affairs of a person who died with a will. A personal representative does the same thing for a person who died without a will. Because you used the word executor, I'm going to assume that your mother died with a will. If one sibling has been named the executor of your mother's will, and the other siblings do not believe that sibling is qualified for an ethical or legal reason, the siblings may file what is known as a will contest to disqualify that named executor and have someone else named as the executor. There are specific reasons to disqualify someone from being an executor, and it's a good idea to seek counsel from a local attorney for more information about how to proceed.

The trust probably allows the trustee to terminate only in certain circumstances, such as the trust purpose can no longer be satisfied or there is not enough assets in the trust to justify its existence. The former usually occurs because there are no living beneficiary to meet a condition. The latter is usually provides the trustee to terminate if the assets are under a definite value.

This is a complex question because it can happen. Does the surviving spouse have any rights. Possibly. She may have a dower interest in any real estate owned by the husband she did not sign off on which was transferred to the trust or corporation during their marriage. A spouse may also be entitled to any 401(k) funds from a pension unless the spouse signed off on a transfer or change of beneficiary. Under Michigan law you have a spousal allowance, an exempt property allowance and a homestead allowance for all property required to be probated.