Father asks 25-year-old daughter and her two siblings to sign away their rights as beneficiaries to their grandfather's trust once he passes: ‘[He is] pressuring me’

Author image for Lana DeGaetano
Lana DeGaetano • "Show me to me please."
Dec 3, 2025 6:00 PM EST

The last thing on your mind when a loved one passes is what you're going to do with their assets—most of the time. Sometimes, conniving family members lurk in the shadows, awaiting the perfect moment to slip into the will and take everything. How can they do this, though? Familial manipulation and the hope that you believe your family would never do you dirty. Spoiler alert: They would, and they will.

Now, this isn't to say all family members in the history of the world want to take advantage of their younger, more unsuspecting relatives. What we are saying, though, is that you should never write off a family member as completely innocent in their actions, especially when money and other assets are on the table. A loved one's passing provides the perfect distraction. Always stay on your toes.

The 25-year-old woman in the story below explains that her father asked her and her siblings to sign away their rights as beneficiaries to their grandfather's trust. Every commenter advises her to hire her own legal counsel, and that this scenario sounds fishy at best. What do you think? Should she and her siblings trust her father with the money?

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  • 01
    woman and older man look at a legal document together
    via Getty Images For Unsplash+

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 02

    "Dad is asking me and my siblings to sign away our rights as beneficiaries to my grandpa’s trust. Need advice"

    Hi all, I'm 25F and my dad is 60M. My grandfather passed away in January and left a trust to my dad and his children (so, me, my dad, and my two siblings are all beneficiaries of the trust right now).
    via ThrowRA8283489293848
  • 03
    My dad is the trustee I believe because he's managing the assets. His residence is in Wisconsin and my residence is in New York City.
    via ThrowRA8283489293848
  • 04
    My dad is now pressuring me to sign a document along with my two siblings that says I will no longer be a beneficiary of the trust.
    via ThrowRA8283489293848
  • 05
    So basically the money will go to his personal trust/account (?) and I forgo the rights to sue him if I feel like he's mismanaging the assets.
    via ThrowRA8283489293848
  • 06
    He says that this will help him avoid paying steep taxes on the trust which come out of the trust money as he keeps the trust open for longer.
    via ThrowRA8283489293848
  • 07
    I need advice on what to do. My siblings have already signed the document to keep the peace, and he expects me to sign the document too without putting up a fight.
    via ThrowRA8283489293848
  • 08
    Meanwhile, I haven't even been given the opportunity to read the trust. While I love my dad and don't want to cause tension, I need advice from people who have gone through this.
    via ThrowRA8283489293848
  • 09
    What are the pros and cons? What do I need to consider about my long term future before I sign away my rights and access to the trust?
    via ThrowRA8283489293848
  • 10
    I'm mostly thinking about long term care for my parents. Will my dad want to spend all of the trust money on his long term end of life care?
    via ThrowRA8283489293848
  • 11
    Should I be worried about this or is that selfish? Another thing I'm worried about is that my mom wouldn't have access to the money.
    via ThrowRA8283489293848
  • 12
    last will and testament on white paper
    via Melinda Gimpel for Unsplash
  • 13
    They've been married for 25 years and she has been the caretaker of the children for the entire marriage and has very few assets. for herself besides what my dad has.
    via ThrowRA8283489293848
  • 14
    They don't have a prenup. My dad basically controls the financials for the entire family. I'd also like to keep the best interest of my mom in mind.
    via ThrowRA8283489293848
  • 15
    I truly appreciate any help or advice you can offer on this situation!! Feel free to give advice also on family dynamics and personal emotional experiences as I'm worried about what refusing to sign these papers might do for me and my dad's relationship Thank you!!!
    via ThrowRA8283489293848
  • 16
    EDIT: I would also appreciate any advice on further questions to ask him/things I need to get clarity on before signing the papers EDIT: the trust has a few million dollars.
    via ThrowRA8283489293848
  • 17
    Less than 5 I think if that gives more context EDIT: my grandfather passed away in Florida
    via ThrowRA8283489293848
  • 18
    giggity_giggity I think you should get some solid legal advice on this before signing anything. Generally speaking, I would expect a properly managed trust to not pay significantly higher (or even higher at all) taxes, if managed with taxes in mind. So it's possible that your dad is either getting bad advice himself or is trying to scam his kids. Those aren't the only two possibilities, but you won't know for sure until an attorney reviews the document and asset information. And I've seen more t
    via giggity_giggity
  • 19
    Scorp128 OP, DO NOT sign ANYTHING until you get your own lawyer to review the trust documents and advise you on the steps you should take.
    via Scorp128
  • 20
    GlobalTapeHead Your dad sounds way too controlling. Please have an attorney review anything before signing. As a beneficiary you have a right to review the trust documents as well.
    via GlobalTapeHead
  • 21
    ExtonGuy You would be giving away a million dollars? Maybe that's what you want to do, but please get informed advice from your own trust lawyer. By "informed", I mean a full copy of the trust terms and accounting of the assets. By "your lawyer", I mean not your dad's lawyer, not the trust's lawyer.
    via ExtonGuy
  • 22
    chefsoda_redux Just to be clear, your father is asking to sign away your rights as a beneficiary of the trust? You understand that means he would receive the trust in full, and you would be entirely excluded from any right to receive any monies from it, to receive information as to its value or holdings, or any access whatsoever? Your father would permanently own the entire trust, with no obligation to ever give any of you three a penny. His request appears to be for the three of you to simply g
    via chefsoda_redux
  • 23
    cryssHappy The trust is there for a reason. Contact an estate lawyer for advice. My advice, never sign away your rights.
    via cryssHappy

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