my father died june 2011 he left a trust fund/will that all 4 siblings get equal share, he left my oldest brother with power of attorney and executive

There are several factors to consider to address your situation. Let me start by saying I don't have enough information to do it fully, but I will give you some guidance. • A Trust document names someone to carry it out who is called a Trustee. The Trustee is allowed to handle the business of distributing the assets in two ways. He must either follow the instructions written in the Trust, or if there are no instructions, he can use his own judgment. In other words, if the Trust does not spell out what should be distributed to whom, how, and when, the Trustee gets to decide how and when to give out what is set aside for each beneficiary. Sometimes a Will is part of a Trust. • Some Wills are not part of a Trust. If some assets were in a Will that is separate from the Trust, the Will must go through a court process called probate, which can be lengthy. In a Will that divides the total assets evenly between heirs, a court often orders the Executor to sell whichever assets of the estate can be sold before the total amount is divided into equal shares. The Court is not required to make decisions based on any heir's need for cash, but on what the state's laws say is the way to fairly distribute the estate. Although you are within your rights to hire an attorney to try getting cash now, here are 3 things to consider first: Legal steps against your brother will most probably cause a serious rift between you and him. If probate is involved, there may be little your brother can do to speed the process, since it is controlled by state law, not him. Regardless of whether there were instructions, if there is a Trust and he is the Trustee, he has been asked to use his own judgment to decide what to do. The only way a judge would change that is if you are able to document proof (bills, receipts, checks, account statements, etc.) that your brother has mishandled the estate. I caution you against acting emotionally because of your financial distress. You should not contest this unless you have proof of wrong-doing on your brother's part. You might however, approach your brother on a business level. Put together your request as if it is a business proposal and try to speak with him about helping you address your finances. He may find a new respect for your situation. To your success,Gale Allison, Principal AttorneyThe Allison Firm, PLLChttp://www.theallisonfirm.comhttp://www.linkedin.com/in/GaleAllison