Trust Administration

Losing a loved one is difficult enough; the last thing your family needs is the added stress of making important financial and legal decisions while in mourning. At the Law Offices of Osofsky & Osofsky, we have the experience and compassion necessary to make the estate and trust administration process as efficient and stress-free as possible. We will guide your heirs with great sensitivity, and work closely with executors, personal representatives, trustees and other fiduciaries to ensure that your wishes are carried out. And if your wishes are ever challenged, we can defend your interests in court.

So, You’ve Been Appointed Trustee of a Trust? Here Are 8 Do’s and 2 Don’ts
Whether it’s an honor or a burden (or both), you have been appointed trustee of a trust. What responsibilities have been thrust upon you? How can you successfully carry them out? Here are eight do’s and two don’ts to get you started:

  1. Do read the trust document. It sets out the rules under which you will operate, so you need to understand it completely.
  2. Do create a checking account for the trust. All income and expenses should go through this account. While you can and should invest the money, a checking account will enable you to make distributions and payments and keep track of them.
  3. Do keep the best interests of the beneficiaries in mind at all times. You have what’s called a “fiduciarry” duty to them, which is an extremely high standard.
  4. Don’t have any personal financial dealings with the trust. For instance, you cannot borrow money from the trust or lend the trust money to anyone.
  5. Do provide the beneficiaries and anyone else indicated in the trust with an annual account of trust activity. This can be a copy of the checking and investment account statements or a more formal trust account prepared by an accountant or attorney.
  6. Do keep trust monies in insured bank or savings accounts, unless the trust instrument or a court order authorizes you to place the monies elsewhere.  Make sure all balances are FDIC insured.  For large balances, this may mean spreading the funds among several banks in order to protect all funds with FDIC coverage. All accounts should be interest-earning, with the exception of amounts reasonably necessary for  the orderly administration of the trust which may be held in a non-interest bearing checking account.
  7. Do keep in regular contact with the beneficiaries to understand their needs.
  8. Do be aware of any public benefits the beneficiaries may be receiving and make sure you do not jeopardize the beneficiaries’ eligibility.
  9. Do file annual income tax returns for the trust.
  10. Don’t fly solo. Get professional advice to make sure you are correctly fulfilling your role.

For a brief overview of a trustee’s duties, click here. For more on trusts, click here.