How Distribution Of Assets Is Done Fairly and Timely Upon Original Trustee’s Death
A successor trustee has many duties; one of which includes
distributing the assets to the appropriate beneficiaries. However,
before this can be carried out, there are a few steps that have to be
followed.
4 Steps That Should Be
Followed When Distributing Trust Assets
1 – All trust beneficiaries and their heirs must be advised in writing
within 60 day of the original trust’s date of death. The
notification is explicitly worded, and if a trust beneficiary demands
it, a duplicate of the trust and any amendments can be delivered to
them. Any party who gets this notice has 120 days to challenge the
original trust.
2 - The original trust assets can be sold. However, if the parties all
agree, the assets can be equally divided among them. For instance, one
recipient may choose to take the real estate while another takes the
equally appreciated mutual fund. If the parties cannot agree,
the trust’s assets can be divided equally with every beneficiary
getting an equal share from the trust’s individual asset.
3 – A comprehensive list of the trust assets will need to be developed
after an agreement has been reached by every beneficiary regarding the
division of assets. After all parties sign the list, the assets will
need to be re-registered in the beneficiaries’ names. Along with that,
every financial institution that holds a title to the assets will need
to be notified of this re-registration. When it comes to real estate, a
new deed will have to be written up for every property.
4 – The trust’s yearly accounting will also need to be filed with every
beneficiary along with a trust termination or change of trustee. The
accounting will need to show what assets were being held on the date of
death along with its value at that time and its present market values.
Non-Allocation Of Trust
Assets
Some trusts will make a motion that the trustee cannot allocate assets
for a certain period of years. When this happens, the successor trustee
will be accountable for the investment of trust assets and make the
distributions to the beneficiaries at a later date.
A successor trustee has a responsibility to control the trust for the
advantage of trust beneficiaries whether it’s for the original trustee
– who is alive but incapacitated – and the designated beneficiaries
upon the original trustee’s death.
It’s imperative to employ the services of a real estate planning lawyer
to ensure the process is a smooth one. With the advice you get, you’ll
be sure that you’re correctly following the steps during this difficult
time.
It’s extremely difficult to manage the trust; but, with proper planning
and some diligence on your part, you can reduce any issues that could
crop up.
According to research, parents will develop a real estate plan to
ensure their hard-earned cash in savings is allocated fairly to their
children and reduce any difficulties they might have with the
inheritance.