Competent Trust Administration by Experienced Fiduciary
What is a trustee?
A trustee manages the assets of a trust to produce income for individuals who are named as beneficiaries or distributes money or property to beneficiaries after someone's death.
A critically important decision when setting up a trust is the selection of the Trustee or Successor Trustee. In Family Trusts, people usually name themselves or a spouse to manage their trust during their lifetime.
The challenge for many is the selection of the successor trustee, who will be called upon when the original trustee dies, resigns, or becomes unable to perform trustee duties.
To assure a smooth administration of your trust, it is extremely important to select a successor trustee who gets to know you and your trust and who is committed to manage your trust according to your instructions - even in the face of controversy or challenges.
If you are looking for an experienced trustee or successor trustee, please give me a call to discuss your circumstances and find out how I could be of service to you.
Call: 602-334-4084
Is your Successor qualified to resolve unforeseen challenges?
Are you confident your trust will be handled as you instructed?
While trust agreements provide instructions on how trust assets are to be managed, the experience or inexperience of the successor trustee can make a huge difference when unforeseen situations come up. An experienced trustee, who can property interpret the trust document and the law help and make well-supported decisions goes a long way in avoiding misunderstandings, reducing complaints and possible legal wrangling with beneficiaries. Timely actions, regular communications with beneficiaries and total transparency in all trustee's actions and decisions make successful trust administration much more likely.
Depending on the nature of the trust, trust administration can take a large amount of time, requiring a solid commitment for fulfilling all trustee duties in accordance with the trust instructions and the law and to meet deadlines distributions, taxes, accountings, reports, and various other requirements.
Some or all of the duties below are required of a successor trustee:
- formally accept trustee position and prepare necessary legal documents
inventory trust assets- notify beneficiaries of the trust
- stop services, utilities, subscriptions, etc.
- notify pension plans, government, etc.
- notify life insurance and collect benefits
- merge bank accounts for easier record keeping
- auction assets where trust calls for it
- deal with government and/or legal authorities in other countries where applicable
- secure and insure trust assets such as vacant homes, parked cars, etc.
- determine fair market value of real estate, collectibles, jewelry, antiques, household
- hire appraisers, auctioneers, or specialists to determine value of the various assets
- collect income from various sources and deposit to trust bank accounts
- change title on trust assets
- rent or lease properties belonging to the trust
- sell real property belonging to the trust
- sell and/or buy stocks, bonds, mutual funds
- consolidate investments or diversify investments to preserve principal
- place investments with a professional money manager to provide long-term income
- manage or sell any businesses owned by the trust
- pay off medical bills where applicable, other creditors, loans, notes
- pay expenses of the administration
- decide on tax strategies and/or options to minimize estate taxes
- prepare estate tax return and pay estate taxes if applicable
- prepare fiduciary income tax returns
- send out periodic information, statements and/or accountings to beneficiaries
- make distributions to beneficiaries
- transfer trust assets to beneficiaries where trust calls for it
- set up sub trust where applicable and obtain tax ID numbers
- work with professionals outside Arizona if trust assets are located in other states
- respond to any legal challenges from beneficiaries or relatives of the grantor
- comply with Arizona state laws, other state laws and federal laws where applicable
Benefit of using a professional fiduciary as trustee:
Professional fiduciaries are often designated as trustees because of their experience in managing and settling trusts and estates. The advantage of using a private fiduciary like myself vs. a corporate trustee is that I have much lower overhead compared to banks and trust companies, which is reflected in lower fees.
If you are looking for an experienced trustee or successor trustee, please give me a call to find out how I could be of service to you.