Dad Signed An Unfunded Trust A Month Before Passing—step Mom Wants My Inheritance

My father passed away in February with a seven-figure estate in Connecticut, but a bulk of his assets had named beneficiaries—primarily my brother and me.

In December, he signed a trust with a pour-over will, naming his spouse as executor and stating that everything should be put into the trust and split 1/3 each. However, the trust was never funded, meaning there are no assets in it. He never changed the beneficiaries.

Before this, my father had a previous will that named me as executor, but the estate company (which also represents his spouse) has not provided me a copy and may be unwilling to do so. The spouse wants to file for executor as there currently is no named one outside the trust.

My Concerns:

Should I just withdraw the funds as a named beneficiary outside of probate, or could this cause legal trouble?

Should I challenge her appointment as executor, or should I try to co-own the executor role? There is clearly a conflict of interest to me.

I will be speaking to a lawyer on Monday but am seeking general advice here first