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“Good afternoon, Raya. Is everything okay?”
“I need you to tell me how I can get money released from Ryleigh’s trust.”
“You can’t. I thought I explained that,” he said.
“I’m not asking if I can just go take money out for shopping. I have something serious going on, and I need more money.”
“What is the situation?”
“I’m behind on the house.”
“The condo? I thought Rah had paid that off.”
“No, I moved. I’m sure I told you that.”
I could hear clicking on his computer. “No, I wasn’t aware. How far behind are you?”
“That’s not the point.”
“It is if you’re asking whether the trust can cover an expense.”
I rolled my eyes and looked back at the paperwork.
“They sent me some foreclosure bullshit.”
“Raya, the trust was not created to maintain a lifestyle you personally cannot afford. It exists for Ryleigh’s long-term benefit.”
“She lives here, nigga. How the fuck is housing not for her benefit?”
“That’s the thing, housing is included in the monthly stipend you receive. The trust could assist depending on circumstances, but that doesn’t mean the trust automatically pays your mortgage because you purchased a home beyond your budget.”
“Beyond my budget? You don’t even know what my budget is.”
“I know the monthly amount Rah directed for her care. If your mortgage is consuming most of that by itself, then yes, the house is likely beyond what that distribution was intended to support.”
“So basically, I’m supposed to have my daughter living in some cheap ass apartment while she got money sitting somewhere that nobody will let me touch?”
“That is not what I said. Ryleigh has access to housing, education, medical care, and other needs through the structure that Rah created. What she does not have is a trust designed to subsidize every financial decision you make.”
I paced the floor.
“Who the fuck decides what counts?”
“The trustee and the estate structure.”
“Who is the trustee?”
He paused, and that let me know everything I needed to know.
“Kyenna has approval authority over certain distributions connected to the estate.”
I stopped walking. Of course, he made that bitch over our child’s shit. That bitch had her hands in everything.
“So, Kyenna can release the money?”
“She can review requests. That is not the same as giving you unrestricted access.”
“But she can approve it.”
