What Is Involved In A Trust Administration?

A trust administration starts with obtaining the death certificate and creating a new certification of trust document. Once the successor trustees have those documents, the trustee can take control of their assets and make an inventory of all the creator’s assets that are held in the trust. Sometimes, the trustee will want to consolidate all of the accounts in one account or consolidate all the investments in one account for ultimate distribution. The trustee will need to then notify all beneficiaries of the existence of the trust and send copies of the trust. He/she will also notify all the beneficiaries of the inventory of the trust’s assets. When the trustee is ready to make a distribution, he or she can be required to give an accounting of all trust’s expenditures and receipts and must give that to all the beneficiaries named in the trust.

When in a position to make final distributions under the trust document, the trustee will coordinate with the beneficiaries about transfer of assets. The beneficiaries will sign receipts and if there are remaining trust assets, the accountings will have to be made on an annual basis. The trustee’s role will be a continuous one to manage money and distributions. Finally, the year following the death, there will be a tax return owed for income that the trust generated from date of death to date of final distribution and termination. The IRS tax form 1041 would reveal this information. If there is any income generated, that income would be passed along and taxed on the beneficiary’s tax returns and reported to the beneficiary and the IRS using a K1 statement. After all the taxes are handled and reported and all the trust assets are distributed, then the trust will be effectively terminated.

How Does A Trust Administration Compare To Probate?

A trust administration compared to probate is very similar except for one very important and obvious point. The probate process is all court-supervised and court-related filings. With the court supervision and the court requirements, an attorney is required, and a larger degree of formality is required as well. Whereas in a trust, a close family trust situation, the trust can essentially be settled by a family trip to the bank to obtain cashier’s checks and you could be done from there. The probate process is a formal process that will delay the distribution of the estate assets and will require higher degree of disclosure to all the family members in coordination with all the family members named under the will.

How Long Does A Trust Administration Generally Take?

Everything in the timeline relating to a trust administration is very situational depending on the demeanor of the trustee, the beneficiaries and the number of assets and asset classes that the grantor held. In many situations, the trust can be settled in a matter of two to three months. In other situations, the trust administration could last as long as a probate administration. In some situations where the grantee says, “The trust lasts forever,” the trust can essentially last for the lifetime of the beneficiary. It is all situational on how the trust is drafted. Someone creating a trust can make the administration process very short and simple. Someone can also make the trust administration last for the lifetime of the beneficiary and beyond.

Can Some Handle Trust Administration On Their Own Without An Attorney?

It is very conceivable that someone can handle trust administration without an attorney. It depends on someone’s ability to withstand a degree of frustration and minutia when settling a trust without the use of an attorney. In a probate or court proceeding, an attorney is required, but one is not required in trust administration. The person who can handle the trust administration successfully without the use of an attorney typically is a type of person who is not afraid to handle finances and is familiar with financial concepts such as investments, classes, taking control of assets, types of assets, taxation and legal concepts.

Many times, when someone has handled a trust settlement, I find out that they may be a certified public accountant or have a law degree but in a different area of law and so forth. For those who may not have that kind of background, handling the trust administration by themselves, without an attorney, is going to be a little trickier and time-consuming. The time-consuming part is what ultimately can be the difference between hiring an attorney and not. The financial company where your loved one had assets before they passed away will help people get the documentation they require to release the money or to create an account. They are helpful but sometimes they do not give complete instructions needed in order to do what you are looking to accomplish. You have to go back and forth, wait on hold, fax things, find out things were not received, or all pages were not received, deal with time delays waiting on the mail, looking for notaries, etc.

What Sets You And Your Firm Apart In Handling Trust Matters?

The main thing that sets us apart in handling trust matters is that we’re realistic about the need for an attorney in the process. Some law firms may leave people feeling as if their law firm must do everything for a percentage of the total estate. That could leave some people frustrated when they feel like they can do the work. Some law firms may do this and not even give much direction and still require the successor trustee to do all the heavy lifting and the law firm achieve large profit margins. Our philosophy here is to give the right amount of advice according to the situation. Depending on the person, we can completely handhold and do absolutely everything in the process or the trust can be handled in a 30-minute meeting. It is just all situational.

We are willing to work with people to not overcharge for services that can be performed by them if they so choose. We charge on an hourly basis for those services so that people can decide how much to use us for services and how much not to use us for services. We have found that the flat fee charges never leave families feeling as if they have sufficient benefit or it leaves us feeling like we undercharged because we are burdened with so much unexpected work that is typically put upon families. The main benefit of working with us is flexibility.

As it relates to competency and ability to handle, we have paralegals with decades of experience. We have created and administered court modifications of all types of trusts and all different varieties of trusts. I have counted over 37 different types of trusts that attorneys can create with specialized names. We are definitely open to working with other advisors to make for easy, simple, efficient, transfer of wealth at death.

For more information on Trust Administration In Florida, an initial consultation is your next best step. Get the information and legal answers you’re seeking by calling (904) 398-6100 today.

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