Ex-Wife Tries to Trick Ex-Husband Out of His Portion of Trust Funds

Betty Crick and Louise Silveira, Sr. divorced shortly after the birth of their son, Louise, Jr. in 1984. After the divorce, Silveira moved to Rhode Island and Crick moved to California. In 2002, at the age of eighteen, Louise, Jr. suffered a heart attack in his high school that caused him to have severe brain damage. Louise, Sr. sued the school, the parties settled, and the proceeds of the settlement were deposited into a special needs trust for Louise, Jr.’s benefit.

Louise, Jr. passed away five years later, and his trust held approximately $8 million. According to the trust’s terms, all remaining assets were to be distributed to Louise, Jr.’s estate at his death. Louise, Jr. did not have a will at his death, so the assets were to be split between Crick and Silveira according to California law.

Crick met with an attorney to draft a disclaimer for Silveira to sign, drove from California to Rhode Island, and the presented the disclaimer to Silveira while he was at work. Crick told Silveira the papers were needed so she could bury Louise, Jr., and Silveira signed them.

After learning of his ex-wife’s lie, Silveira challenged the disclaimer in court. After several years of litigation, a California appeals court in Crick v. Silveira (Super. Ct. Nos. PR38621, PR3778) held that, “there was substantial evidence the father’s failure to read the disclaimer (or take it to somebody who could) was not negligent and was induced by the mother’s misrepresentations as to the nature of the disclaimer.” The court awarded Silveira his portion of the trust funds.

See Mother Tries to Trick Her Ex-Husband Out of His Share of a Special Needs Trust, Special Needs Awareness, Sep. 7, 2011.

Special thanks to Jim Hillhouse (WealthCounsel) for bringing this article to my attention.