New Trustee? Do This First | Estate Planning TV 034
New Trustee? Do This First.
People are rarely ready to become the trustee of a trust. It’s not something that usually has a specific start date.
For that reason, when it does happen one is often thrust into a new role. There is often little guidance, little help, and very little idea of what to actually do.
If you are a new trustee and you are wondering what to do first, this post is for you.
Before I get into the details, let me just lay it out for you.
If you are a new trustee the first thing you should do is READ THE TRUST.
This is important for several reasons.
The first important reason new trustees should read the trust first is that the trust lays out everything you need to act accordingly.
It tells you who the beneficiaries are. It tells you what to do with property. It tells you what you can and can’t do in your role as trustee.
The second important reason to read the trust is that it lays out how to organize all of the assets before anything is done with them.
And failing to do this can be problematic.
For example, I had a client come in who was the trustee of his parents trust. They had both recently passed away and he was needing to administer the trust.
But no one had read it.
Because of that, they’d failed to separate the property in a way that would save them at least $250,000!
Thankfully they brought it in and sought out help, but if they hadn’t, they could have potentially made a big mistake – all caused by not reading the trust.
If you are a new trustee and need help administering a trust, please feel free to reach out to us for help. We know what we’re doing, can decipher the language of the trust, and make sure you are doing the right things.
If you want to talk more, just click the link below and pick a time that works for you (in person or over the phone). I’d love to talk to you.