If you are a current beneficiary of a will or a trust, but the executor or trustee is mishandling the estate or trust, you may have legal recourse. An executor or trustee is a fiduciary held to high legal standards. The executor or trustee needs to keep you informed, protect the assets in his/her care, and act in accordance with the will or trust. An executor should not keep the estate open so he can merely collect fees or keep his favorite attorneys and accountants well fed. He should wrap up the estate and distribute its assets as quickly as possible.   

A trustee should regularly report to the beneficiaries concerning the status of the trust, and the trustee should invest the trust assets for the best interests of the beneficiaries. The trustee needs to properly account for the trust so that its earnings and distributions are clear and understandable.

An executor or trustee should never enter into private dealings with the trust or estate. This is called self dealing. The trust or the estate is not a device to help them fund their own business dealings or through which to make their own investments. If they commingle their investments and funds with the estate's or trust's, they have breached their fiduciary duties.

If a trustee or executor is not properly discharging their duties or are clearly breaching their fiduciary duties, contact a competent attorney for help as soon as possible. Delay can cause you to lose your legal rights!