Trust Administration
What is Trust Administration?
Trust administration is the process of managing assets in a trust under three circumstances:
- While you are alive and not disabled
- While you are disabled (incapacitated)
- Upon your death
The singular strength of a trust is that, unlike people, a trust never becomes disabled and it never dies. Even if the trustee dies, a trust contains provisions designating a successor trustee upon the trustee’s incapacity or death. Consequently, control is never lost and the court system is never involved.
Any assets that remain in your name individually and do not belong to a trust will be dealt with using either a power of attorney, a court guardianship, or conservatorship, and upon your death those assets must go through the expensive and burdensome process of probate.
How We Can Help
LTAL provides three levels of service for trustees:
Executor Support. As the named trustee, if you do not have the time or inclination to take the lead, you can entrust the process to us. Be assured that we will see the process through to the end. As the executor you always have final signatory oversight.
Legal Advice and Administrative Assistance. As the named trustee, if you have a handle on the process but occasionally need help with administrative duties or legal advice on discrete issues, you can rely on us to be there when you call. We will always provide timely advice for your present needs.
Independent/Third-Party Trusteeship. For various reasons our estate planning clients sometimes need to name an independent third party trustee. In those cases, our clients can name one of LTAL’s attorneys to serve as trustee. LTAL then handles the entire process from beginning to end, ensuring that all administrative details are complete and sensitive legal issues are handled appropriately.