Imagine this situation.
Mom passes away. You know she had an estate plan. You remember her talking about her trust, and maybe you were even named as the person who would take care of things after her death.
But there’s one problem.
Nobody can find her trust.
You’ve searched the filing cabinet, the safe, and every drawer in the house. You’ve called her attorney. You’ve asked other family members.
Nothing.
Does that mean the trust no longer exists? Does everything have to go through probate? And what happens to the property that was supposed to pass under the trust?
A recent New York court case, In re Pinnola, offers some helpful answers.
The court found that a trust could still be valid even though nobody could locate the original signed trust.
Although this was a New York case, Michigan families can face the same problem. And some of the lessons from this case could be useful here, too.
Why This Matters
A Trust That Seemed to Have Disappeared
Helen Pinnola created a living trust in 2007. A living trust is an estate planning tool that allows someone to manage their property during life and pass it to loved ones after death, often without probate.
Helen named herself and her stepson as trustees. She also transferred her home into the trust.
Helen died in 2017. Her stepson continued managing the trust until he passed away in 2024.
That’s when the problem surfaced.
Nobody could find the original signed trust or even a signed copy.
Fortunately, Helen’s attorney still had an unsigned copy saved on his computer. He also remembered meeting with Helen and her stepson when they signed the trust.
But was that enough?
The Court Looked Beyond the Missing Trust
The court didn’t simply accept the attorney’s word. It looked at several pieces of evidence.
First, the attorney confirmed that he had personally witnessed the trust being signed and that the unsigned copy accurately reflected the signed version.
Second, Helen had signed a deed transferring her home into the trust. That deed had been recorded with the county.
Third, Helen and her stepson had signed a separate statement confirming that the trust existed and identifying the trustees.
Finally, there was a bank account titled in the name of the trust.
When the court considered all of this evidence together, it found that Helen had created a valid trust, even though the signed trust could not be located.
The important lesson is that losing a signed trust doesn’t always mean the estate plan is lost. But proving what the trust said can be difficult.
Why This Is Important for Michigan Families
I have worked with Michigan families for many years, and I can tell you that finding an estate plan after someone dies isn’t always as easy as people expect.
Sometimes a parent keeps everything in a safe place but never tells the children where that place is.
Sometimes an estate plan was prepared 20 years ago, and the attorney who prepared it has retired.
And sometimes family members find an old version of a trust but aren’t sure whether a newer one exists.
These situations can create real problems.
Without the trust, the person responsible for handling the estate may not know who should receive the property, who has authority to act, or what instructions must be followed.
And banks and other financial institutions may be unwilling to release assets without proper proof.
Michigan law has its own rules for establishing a trust and proving its terms. The New York decision does not control what a Michigan court would do, but similar evidence could be important here.
Every situation depends on the facts.
There’s Another Important Lesson: Make Sure Your Trust Actually Owns Your Property
One detail in Helen’s case deserves special attention.
She had transferred her home into her trust and opened a bank account in the trust’s name.
That turned out to be very important.
Those actions helped prove that the trust existed and was being used.
This is something I regularly discuss with clients.
Creating a trust is only part of estate planning. You also need to make sure your property is properly connected to it.
We call this funding your trust.
For example, depending on your estate plan, this might involve transferring your home into your trust, changing ownership of certain accounts, or making sure beneficiary designations work with your plan.
A trust that isn’t properly funded may not accomplish what you intended.
And as Helen’s case shows, having property titled in the trust’s name may also help establish that the trust existed if questions arise later.
Make Sure Someone Knows Where to Find Your Estate Plan
There’s one more practical point I want to make.
You can have a carefully prepared estate plan that addresses every concern you have.
But if nobody can find it when you die, your family may face unnecessary stress, delays, and expense.
That doesn’t mean you need to give everyone a copy of your trust today.
It does mean that the people you’ve chosen to handle your affairs should know where to find your plan when the time comes.
That might be a secure location in your home, your attorney’s office, or a secure electronic storage system.
The important thing is that someone knows where to look and how to gain access.
Simple Lesson
A good estate plan should do more than explain your wishes. It should also be easy for the right people to find and carry out when the time comes.
After all, the purpose of planning is to make things easier for the people you love, not leave them searching for answers.
Action Step
Take a few minutes this week to ask yourself two questions:
- If something happened to me tomorrow, would the person I’ve chosen to handle my affairs know where to find my estate plan?
- Have I made sure my trust is properly funded so it will work the way I intended?
If you’re not sure about either answer, it may be time for a planning review.
A little preparation today can save your family a great deal of trouble later.
If you’d like help reviewing your plan, call (517) 548-7400 or connect with us here: https://www.michiganestateplans.com/contact-us
