Trust Administration Attorney in San Leandro, California

Trust Administration

When the creator of a living trust passes away, this usually triggers certain provisions of the trust that make the trust irrevocable and direct the transfer of property to beneficiaries (or at least making new people the beneficiary of the trust). If the person that created the trust was also acting as the trustee, it will also trigger a change in trustee. Often it will be necessary for the new trustee(s) to obtain a separate taxpayer identification number for the trust (also called a Federal Employers Identification Number, or FEIN).

Whenever a trust becomes irrevocable or there is a change in the trustee this also triggers a requirement for certain notices to be given to the beneficiaries and certain other people. Included with the requirement to provide certain notices, the new trustee(s) must provide an accounting to the beneficiaries.

Then it is necessary for the new trustee(s) to make sure they collect all of the trust property and the ownership reflects that there has been a change in trustee. Sometimes this is relatively easy while other times it is a much more involved process; it really depends on whether the decedent’s property was already transferred into the trust or had the trust listed as a beneficiary.

When it comes to representing a trustee, the attorney’s level of involvement usually is determined by how much or little the trustee wants to do and is capable of doing without an attorney’s assistance.