So you’ve been named trustee, now what?

Part 1

Most of those thrust into the role of trustee, conservator, or guardian aren’t professional fiduciaries trained in the intricacies of trust and estate management. They are sons and daughters, siblings, parents, cousins, or loyal friends who are viewed as responsible, organized, and ethical. But being a trustee is a complicated occupation, and to be very clear, it is a full time occupation. Managing an estate is highly complex, with a lot of moving parts. It has strict legal requirements, which if not followed can lead to personal consequences for the trustee/administrator.

The majority trustees are first timers, having spent their lives focused on careers in other industries, and are asked to step into the role of managing the affairs of a close relative while mourning their loss. Imagine for a moment, your last remaining parent has just passed away. You are one of 3 siblings, the only one left living in California, and you were named successor trustee. You now have a legal obligation to fulfill the terms of the trust your parents set up to provide you and your siblings with an inheritance. Where do you start? How do you act in your official capacity? What are you supposed to do now that you’ve been named the successor trustee? How are you supposed to learn the duties of your new role? Well there is not official school of trustees, there are professional organizations that can provide education or assistance, but without prior knowledge of the process, where do you even begin to look?

These are questions we’ve encountered from clients over years of working with probate attorneys, professional and first time fiduciaries (Fiduciary is just an all encompassing word for someone who acts as trustee, conservator, guardian, administrator, etc.). As a professional fiduciary myself, I’ve had to learn these lessons the hard way. Hopefully, through sharing some tips and tricks, and best practices, my experience will help you avoid some of the pitfalls that come with the job.

As we’ve stated in the disclaimer on our blog page - we are not attorneys - and we cannot give you legal advice. However, based on personal experience, here are the top 3 steps that we think you should take:

Step One: Obtain a copy of the trust and read it. 

Step Two: Hire an attorney.

Step Three: Organize your data.

We will be diving into detail on each of these topics in the next few articles to come. Step One: Obtain a copy of the trust and read it, coming next!