Consumer complaint received 2016-02-09
Company: BANK OF AMERICA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
State: VA
Product: Bank account or service
Sub-product: Other bank product/service
Issue: Account opening, closing, or management

Complaint:
Please advise if trusts are outside your jurisdiction. This trust was originally created in Missouri in my grandmother 's will. 

XXXX XXXX ( Bank of America ) is proposing incorrect settlement terms for a trust where it serves as trustee. I have provided documentation of the errors, but the bank stands on its original calculations. The errors stem from incorrect calculations the bank is using now to compensate for errors it has made in trust administration over the years where it failed to properly account for advancements against the trust principal to XXXX of the beneficiaries. It now must make whole the remaindermen affected by the original errors, and deliver correct distributions of remaining trust assets to those XXXX families who have not received any proceeds from the trust following the deaths of the final beneficiaries in XXXX and XXXX - in a timely fashion. It is now XXXX XXXX months since the last beneficiary died ( my mother ) and over a year since the one before did ( my uncle ). The heirs XXXX are being asked to settle in XXXX action. 

I will attach the proposed settlement documents, along with my explanation of the errors the bank has made in the form of a spreadsheet with line by line explanation. 

Errors that Bank of America has committed over the years include failure to preserve records of trust transactions ( statements for some periods are unavailable ) and the above mentioned incorrect accounting leading to incorrect distributions following the deaths of the first XXXX beneficiaries in XXXX and XXXX. 

My calculations suggest that the bank is now proposing overpayment to me of {$24000.00}, underpayment to XXXX family of {$41000.00}, overpayment to XXXX family of {$11000.00}, and overpayment to XXXX family of {$5100.00}. See spreadsheet named " trust_reconciliation.xlsx '' to see how I figure what we are each due. A line by line explanation is in the document " trust_reconciliation_expl.docx ''. You will need to refer to the bank 's " trust_cover_ltr.pdf '' and associated other " trust_ '' documents to see their explanations of the errors for which they are trying to compensate and their proposed ( wrong ) calculations. 

To make matters worse, you will see that the agreement the bank is requiring us to sign to get any proceeds from the trust ( " trust_release_n_waiver_modified.pdf '' ) releases them from responsibility for any errors or omissions - when they have made numerous errors over the years, can not produce statements to account for their actions as trustee, and proposed a settlement that contains, for XXXX family, an error of over {$40000.00} as I figure it. 

I am shocked that such a large bank could be so irresponsible over the years and now propose that, in order to collect anything, they ask that we give up all of our rights to hold them accountable. It seems that our obvious recourse would be to take them to court in the state that has jurisdiction over the trust. Bank of America has suggested that we would incur significant fees in doing so, chargeable to the trust, in addition to our own legal fees. That is not right, that we should have to sue for a trustee to perform its obligation for which it has collected handsome fees from the family for decades. 

I hope that CFPB can assist us in this matter.

Company public response: Company chooses not to provide a public response
Company response to consumer: Closed with non-monetary relief