Oceanside Trust Administration Lawyer

If you have been assigned as a trustee in Oceanside, California, you carry a great deal of responsibility to ensure the trust is preserved and protected until it is time for the administration process. From filing trust taxes to distributing assets to beneficiaries, managing and protecting a trust can be extremely complex. That’s why as a trustee, it is essential to work with a knowledgeable trust administration attorney to be sure you carry out your duties properly.

At Paul V.L. Campo, Attorney at Law, our team has been assisting California families with estate planning and trust administration for decades. We understand just how critical it is to properly manage a trust and can represent you and work with you throughout the entire process.

What Is Trust Administration?

Trust administration is the process of managing, protecting, and administering the assets within a trust. When a trust is created, a trustee, otherwise known as a fiduciary, is legally assigned to manage the trust until it’s time to distribute the assets to beneficiaries. The trustee takes on a variety of responsibilities, including:

• Protecting and managing the trust to the best of their ability
• Keeping detailed financial and account records regarding the trust
• Investing assets to help preserve or grow the trust
• Distributing assets to beneficiaries when the grantor passes away
• Ensuring the trust property and their own property do not comingle
• Acting in the best interest of the trust and according to their assigned legal responsibilities (no self-dealing, no comingling, no conflicts of interest or disputes, etc.)
• Helping beneficiaries and answering their questions
• Filing trust taxes and maintaining any insurance when needed
• Obtaining death certificates and notifying beneficiaries and creditors when the grantor of the trust passes away

How Does the Trust Administration Process Work?

The job of a trustee begins as soon as a trust becomes active. However, in most cases, the assets within a trust are not distributed until the grantor has passed away. The formal trust administration process then begins after the grantor’s death and follows these general steps.

1. Gather Financial, Death, and Account Records

   The first step of the administration process involves obtaining all necessary documents, including the grantor’s estate plan, to ensure their wishes are properly followed. The trustee will need to acquire financial and account records of the trust and its assets, as well as the death records of the grantor. Death certificates can occasionally take a while to come in, so it’s important the trustee orders copies of the certificate as soon as possible.

2. Create Inventory and Obtain a Tax Identification Number

   After all of the necessary documentation of the trust and its grantor has been collected, the trustee must then create an inventory and “custody” the assets in the trust. The trustee should identify, secure, and value the assets within the trust to ensure everything is accounted for. They will also need to have everything properly titled before it is distributed to beneficiaries. Once all assets are accounted for and correctly titled, the trustee then needs to obtain a new tax identification number for the property.

3. Notify Beneficiaries and Creditors

   Once the initial trust administrative duties have been taken care of, the trustee must notify the beneficiaries of the grantor’s passing as well as of their beneficiary status. The trustee has 60 days to begin the trust administration process and notify beneficiaries. By notifying the beneficiaries, they can state any objections or issues they have with the terms of the trust before the distribution of assets begins. The trustee is not required to notify creditors but should do so at this time if they believe it will help to avoid issues in the future.

4. Pay Outstanding Taxes or Balances

   With the new tax identification number, the trustee is then required to manage and settle all outstanding account balances or taxes on the trust. Because a trust becomes irrevocable when the grantor passes away, the trust itself technically becomes its own tax paying entity. This means all outstanding taxes and debts must be paid by the trustee for any assets to be distributed.

5. Distribute Assets

   The last step of the trust administration process is to distribute the property and assets to the listed beneficiaries as the grantor wanted. The way the assets end up being distributed is going to depend largely on the type of assets involved, their complexity, and their value. In most cases, they would be distributed outright, in staggered pieces, or at the discretion of the trustee.

How Can an Oceanside Trust Attorney Help?

Sometimes trustees are family members, friends, or loved ones of the grantor who created the trust. Because of this, working with a knowledgeable Oceanside estate planning lawyer can help greatly. Our team at the Law Office of Paul V.L. Campo can help you properly manage and preserve your trust. We can also assist when it comes time to distribute assets to beneficiaries. We understand how difficult it can be to maintain and protect a trust, which is why we offer legal services to assist clients with these responsibilities.

We can work to ensure you are aware of your legal duties while also giving you advice on how to perform them to the best of your ability. Whether you were just assigned as a trustee in California or it’s time for you to distribute the property within a trust, don’t wait to find an estate planning attorney who can help you.

Paul V.L. Campo, Attorney at Law: Your Trust Administration Attorney

The team at Paul V.L. Campo can help you perform your duties as a trustee to the best of your ability. We understand the challenges you face, but we can help. With decades of experience working in the field of estate planning, our team can work with you to manage, preserve, and protect a trust here in Oceanside. To learn more about our trust administration legal services or to see how we may be able to assist you, contact our team today for more information or to schedule a free consultation.