Planning for Your Trust After You’re Gone
A legal trust is an excellent way to keep your assets safe and properly managed while you are living. When you die, the trust will continue to exist until all of the assets contained within are distributed according to legal requirements and the instructions within the trust itself. In order to distribute these assets, the trust must be administered by another party or organization. Setting up someone to take care of the administration of a trust is essential when creating the trust itself.
What the Trust Administrator Will Do
When you pass away, the trust administrator will take care of all the final steps as required. This could take anywhere from a few weeks to several years, depending on the size and complexity of the trust. The following are some of the typical steps that must be taken by the administrator of a trust:
- Collect & Manage Assets – The administrator needs to collect all the assets from the trust and take care of them until they can be properly distributed.
- Appraise Property – The property and other relevant assets must be appraised to determine their value.
- Pay Taxes – Any final taxes that are due at the death of the trustor will need to be paid out of the estate by the administrator.
- Other Expenses – Any other debts that are owed by the trustor will need to be paid out of the estate by the administrator.
- Distribute Assets – Finally, all remaining assets will be distributed according to the instructions of the trustor. This can include giving assets directly to heirs, or placing them into a new trust used by charitable organizations or other individuals.
Choosing a Trust Administrator
The person or organization chosen to administer a trust must be able to fulfill the above obligations and do it in a timely manner. Most people will choose an organization that has experience with this type of work since it can be quite complicated and time consuming. Loved ones often don’t have the experience necessary to take on this responsibility and they will be in mourning when it needs to be done. We can help you find a qualified trust administrator for an existing trust, or when setting up a new one. Please contact us to schedule a consultation today.
