Ms. Disalvo gave you great advice. There are problems with finding trust, just like finding life insurance policies. Without finding evidence in your father's records, you will struggle to find a trust. Tax returns might provide insight into your Dad's conduct and find something related to a trust in his tax records.
Please accept my condolences on your loss.
Unfortunately, as for your question about finding a trust fund he might have created, there's not necessarily a way to do so. The first place to begin would be to look through your father's records and see if there are any bank statements or other records that appear to be related to a custodial account or a trust account, and to see if there are any trust agreement documents in his possession. You can also look through income tax records and see if there are 1099s from any accounts that might be trust accounts, and you can look to see if he ever filed any gift tax returns. If you don't find anything in any of those records, then you need to look for any information that shows he may have contacted an attorney to have estate planning documents prepared, and, if you find any attorney information, to contact the attorney. But it is entirely possible that you may have been given incorrect information (it happens much more often than you would think). It is also possible that the trust may have existed but been undone at a later date, either by your father or by the trustee. The trust may have also been spent. At some point, if you cannot find information that a trust fund currently exists, then you should assume that it likely never did.
Consumers can use this platform to pose legal questions to real lawyers and receive free insights.
Participating legal professionals get the opportunity to speak directly with people who may need their services, as well as enhance their standing in the Lawyers.com community.