Trust Administration
Preserving Your Loved Ones Wishes to Ensure Their Legacy
With meticulous attention to detail and personalized service, we support trustees and trust administrators as they navigate the maze of trust procedures and laws to ensure your loved ones legacy is honored for generations.
Your Intentions, Honored for Generations to Come
Cleveland Elder Law has the experience to manage and oversee the assets within a trust to ensure your wishes are met.
Some common activities might include:
Distribute assets to beneficiaries
Keep accurate records of transactions
Managing tax implications for the trust
Communicating with beneficiaries regarding trust matters
Answers to Frequently Asked Questions About Trust Administration
Here are answers to questions we hear most often about trust administration:
What has to be done when a parent dies and they have a trust?
We work with our clients' children to administer their parents’ trusts after they pass away. A trust is basically a “rule book” that describes what is to be done with one’s assets after death. The process starts with understanding the terms of the trust, and may involve marshaling assets in the trust, paying debts, selling unwanted property, distributing property, preparing tax returns as needed, and distributing trust assets into shares for beneficiaries.
Trustees have the responsibility of informing beneficiaries of the assets in the trust and providing information as to how the assets were distributed. Beneficiaries receiving assets in trust should truly understand the benefits of the trust, what asset protection it provides, and how it can protect them and their children from a loss of funds due to creditors, lawsuits, divorce, or other possible threats.
Can I challenge the validity of a Trust?
One of the benefits of a trust is that the business of the trust is not typically carried out in court. However, like other legal documents, if the person signing a trust was unduly influenced to sign a trust or not competent to write a trust, the trust may be challenged in a lawsuit. The trustee is responsible to defend the trust in these suits. Careful planning of the trust document, good communication, and assessment of the person signing the trust agreement can help avoid these situations.
The other type of challenge is where a beneficiary believes the trustee is failing to perform the duties required of him or her, or is breaching the terms of the trust. If this cannot be worked out between the trustee and the beneficiaries, a court suit could result.