There can be no worse job in the world of estate planning than being a Trustee. It may “sound good” to be in charge of a Trust, but most people have little idea of the duties, responsibilities and potential pitfalls they are undertaking when agreeing to be a Trustee. What is a Trust Document? First, […]
How do you protect your parent’s assets from bad people? That can be harder than you think. If your parent has a Trust and you are named as the successor Trustee, then helping your parent may be possible. But most Trusts allow the Trust creator—your parent—to act as Trustee so long as they have the […]
Can I get my inheritance early? That depends…on how nice you are to your parents. Generally speaking, the only way to obtain your inheritance early is for a parent to give that to you before they pass. But there are times when a parent dies and their assets are held in Trust to benefit a […]
What constitutes trust assets after someone dies? A Trust only controls assets that are held in the name of the Trustee. In other words, a Trust does not necessarily control every asset owned by the decedent. For example, let’s say your mom and dad owned a home, a bank account with $200,000 on deposit, and […]
Trustees occupy the office of Trustee. As Trustee, they must pay all debts of the Trust. More than that, Trustees often also have an obligation to pay debts of a decedent even if the debt is not officially against the Trust. Things like credit card bills taken out in a decedent’s individual name may still […]
Since some Trusts are private, locating the Trustee and any formal information can be difficult. How do you know who the Trustee is in a Trust? That can be a tricky question. The problem is that Trust documents are not publicly recorded, and calling Albertson & Davidson Trust Lawyers can help you answer these questions. […]
Trustees have a difficult job, to be sure, but they can make their job much harder by making mistakes. There are two big mistakes that many Trustees make consistently. First, many Trustees simply fail to communicate. Trustee are required to keep their beneficiaries reasonably informed about the Trust administration (Probate Code section 16060). Reasonable information […]
When people create a Trust, they are simply establishing a separate legal entity that will hold title to their assets. For example, if husband and wife create a Trust during their lifetimes (referred to as a living Trust, or revocable Trust), then they will change the title to their assets from themselves (as individuals) to […]
How does a trustee resign? That depends on the terms stated in the trust document. Most trusts will have a provision that describes how a Trustee may resign from acting as Trustee. In most cases, the Trustee will give written notice of their resignation to the Trust beneficiaries and to the successor Trustees. Whatever the […]
If you ask any Trust beneficiary, they will tell you that closing a Trust administration is easy. The Trustee gives the beneficiaries all the assets, and they all live happily ever after. But Trustees often see the end of the Trust with far more reservation because of their potential future liability. You see, Trustees don’t want […]
