Trust Administration

Managing trust assets is known as trust administration—the “who gets what and when” according to your estate plan.

“Legalese” is rampant in the area of estate planning; words and expressions confuse rather clear up matters. Following is a basic primer for trust terminology:

• The person creating a trust is the “settlor” or “grantor” of the trust
• Once the settlor transfers or funds property to the trust, the “trustee” of the trust takes control of and manages the trust assets
• The trust “beneficiary” is the designated individual(s) who receives the benefit of the trust assets
• Settlors can designate themselves as both the initial trustee and beneficiary—this is commonly done

What happens when you are unable to serve as trustee due to illness or death? You name an individual as “successor trustee” to take over the responsibility to manage the trust property according to your directions stated in the trust. You also name the ultimate trust beneficiaries.

I assist trustees carry out their administrative responsibilities which include:

• Perform multiple tasks as directed by the trust itself
• Comply with a variety of tax laws
• Keep the trust property legally separate from his/her own property
• Distribute trust assets to the beneficiary as directed by the trust
• Not show favoritism if there are multiple trust beneficiaries