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| UNCLE NED: THE TRUSTEE WHO GAVE AWAY THE COLLEGE MONEY SOURCE: RECER EXPERIENCE After one of our seminars in Baltimore, a lady came in for estate planning and told me, "I didn't get to go to college." "Oh," I nodded, "and why not?" "Well," she continued, "my father left a trust for my sister and me to go to college." "He named our Uncle Ned as trustee of the trust." "When it came time for us to go to college, we went to Uncle Ned and told him we were ready for college and that we would be needing some money soon." "Uncle Ned looked at the floor, shuffled his feet and said, 'Well, there is a poor family that lives down the road ... and, over the years, I thought that they needed the money more than you girls did, so I gave it to them.'" Listening intently, I sat stunned for a moment, waiting for the other shoe to drop; but, there was no other shoe. That was the end of the story. Uncle Ned violated his trust; he did not follow the instructions given him. You may ask, "Why didn't she sue Uncle Ned?" Perhaps the sisters could have brought suit against Uncle Ned; but, what would it have gained them? Did he have any assets? What do 18-year-old youngsters know about lawsuits, etc? Probably, not much. But, no matter what their response was, the bottom line was that they did not get to go to college. Don't leave your children's fate to such a person, no matter how trusted and wise he may seem at the time. Time and people change. Their circumstances change. See also, Trusts:Who Needs 'Em |
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