GENERIC OUTLINE OF BASIC TRUST ADMINISTRATION STEPS: (Each step of administration can create serious pitfalls and problems if ignored) 1. Study of the trust documents to determine specific instructions i.e. what to do on death of first or second spouse as the case may be. [Why do this?…
Intro CASE #6: Unreasonable trustees fees Put limits on trustees fees in your trust documents to avoid future disputes I was represented a man whose mother had died leaving her house and some bank accounts in a trust. Unfortunately, the trust was managed by his two sisters and they were not…
Intro CASE #5: Stepfather removing trust assets Proper trust drafting should account for diverse personalities & specify how money is to be spent I was retained by the person whose mother had established a living trust with her second husband. She and her second husband put all other assets in…
Intro CASE #4: Claimed lack of mental capacity But Father Knew 3 of 4 Children would CLAIM JUST THAT after his death! I represented an elderly man with a very large estate which was in a living trust. He had four children and did not want to leave the trust…
Intro CASE #3: Monkey business with the family business Big Salaries, Fancy Cars, 2 of 4 Kids Squandering Trust Assets Unfairly There was a family with four children and a father who had a large specialty construction company. The father had established a living trust and transferred all of his assets…
Intro CASE #2: Failure to account for a phony trust George the “Trustee” & Disbarred Attorney Attempt to Scam my Clients I represented some people who were swindled into transferring some real estate they owned into a trust in exchange for some paper they were told were “gold shares”. The…
Intro CASE #1: Getting even for being tied up to a tree Payback for traumatic childhood prank! There were three sisters who were trust beneficiaries of their dad’s trust. One of the sisters was the trustee and administered their dad’s trust after he passed away. When the trustee sister was…
Intro BE CAREFUL WHO YOU TRUST WITH YOUR TRUST Trust terminology basics A trust is created by a written document known as a declaration of trust, and is then funded by transfer of money into trust bank accounts and/or deeding or transferring of properties to the trust. The creator of…
You can predetermine “Reasonable Trustee Fees” – if only you are properly advised A typical part of any living trust is a paragraph allowing payment of “reasonable” trustees fees. Most people establishing trusts do not realize that there is a great deal of latitude in what reasonable trustees fees are.…
Letting Some of the Kids Live in Mom’s House May Lead to Costly Litigation Frequently we run across situations where parents will leave their residences to one or more of their children in their will or their trust. If they only have one child then the situation is usually okay…