Congratulations! You’ve taken a significant step by putting your estate plan in place. But what happens next when the time comes? Estate plans are designed to ease the process for your loved ones and ensure your wishes are fulfilled. However, trust administration can feel overwhelming for your family, especially in the immediate aftermath of a loss. To help, we’ve created a simple checklist of steps to follow during this time.
Trust Administration Checklist: Initial Steps
- Call Von Rock Law
The first step your successor trustee should take is to contact us. As your estate planning attorney, we will help guide them through the entire trust administration process and ensure everything is handled correctly. - Order 15 Copies of the Decedent’s Death Certificate
Death certificates are necessary for many aspects of estate administration. We recommend ordering at least 15 copies, as multiple institutions may require an original document to process the estate. - Gather All Estate Planning Documents
These include your will, trust documents, power of attorney, healthcare directives, and any other legal documents that outline your final wishes. Having these ready will help the process run more smoothly. - Identify and Locate Assets
Your successor trustee will need to identify all assets in the estate. Some common categories include:- Real estate properties: Identify homes, rental properties, or land.
- Bank accounts: Locate both checking and savings accounts, along with any money market, life insurance, brokerage accounts, retirement account such as IRAs or 401(k)s, or joint accounts.
- Investments and securities: Include stocks, bonds, and other investment accounts.
- Personal property: Take stock of valuable personal items such as jewelry, artwork, and antiques.
- Do Not Contact Banks Until Advised by Your Attorney
Reaching out to financial institutions before consulting with an attorney can lead to issues, such as the immediate freezing of accounts. It’s important to wait for legal guidance before notifying banks to ensure proper protocol is followed and to avoid unnecessary complications. - Do Not Make Any Distributions
It’s tempting to begin distributing assets to beneficiaries immediately. However, distributions should not be made until the trust administration process is fully underway and legal requirements are met. Premature distributions could result in unintended tax consequences or disputes among beneficiaries. - Locate Passwords
With so much of our lives online, locating passwords to email, social media, and financial accounts is a crucial step in estate administration.
What to Do When the First Spouse Dies in a Married Estate Plan
If this is a married estate plan, it’s important to understand that certain steps may still need to be taken even if only one spouse has passed away. Here’s what you should know:
- Review the Estate Plan: A married couple’s estate plan often includes specific instructions on how the estate should be handled when the first spouse passes away. It may be necessary to update certain parts of the plan or follow specific provisions in the trust agreement.
- Administer the Trust: Depending on how the estate plan is structured, some assets may need to be moved into a survivor’s trust, bypass trust, or a marital trust. This ensures that the assets are managed according to the plan’s instructions.
- Update Beneficiaries: This may be a good time for the surviving spouse to update beneficiaries on insurance policies, retirement accounts, or investment accounts to reflect any necessary changes.
- Consult with Your Attorney: Even if it seems like minimal changes are needed, it’s always wise for the surviving spouse to consult with their estate planning attorney. We can help you navigate this process and ensure that your family is protected moving forward.
By following these initial steps, you can ensure that the trust administration process is handled efficiently and in line with your loved one’s wishes. Whether it’s a single or married individual, Von Rock Law is here to provide expert legal assistance to guide you through the trust administration process
