What Is Involved In Trust Administration?

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In trust administration, the trustee must read the trust, determine the desires of the trustor, gather the assets of the trust together, manage the trust assets and distribute them in accord with the specific instructions of the trust. Often, this can be accomplished in a matter of a few days whereas probate will require six months when everything goes smoothly. Furthermore, the cost involved in trust administration is often a very small fraction of the cost of probate because much of the work can be done without engaging a lawyer and spending large sums of money going through court battles. So trust administration is generally cheaper and substantially faster than probate.

How Long Does The Initial Trust Administration Take?

It can take as little as a few hours in a simple trust with simple directions. On the other hand, trust administration can take a long time. If the trust directs that the trustee will sell real property, it may require months to successfully market a property, find the best buyer, allow the buyer time to find their financing and get through closing. So, the trust administration can, in such an instance, require a substantial length of time. It just depends on the terms of the trust and the expectations of the trustor.

Are Assets Held In A Trust Protected From Creditors?

Assets held in a trust can be protected from creditors but are not always protected. For example, a revocable trust, also known as a living trust, offers no protection from creditors at all. Because you have retained full control over the trust, your creditors can take full control of the trust. Assets that you put into an asset protection trust can be protected from creditors so long as you transfer the asset(s) into the trust before a real problem develops and so long as the terms of the trust are drafted in such a way as to provide asset protection. Asset protection can be achieved with a trust, but many trusts do not provide asset protection.

Can Someone Handle Trust Administration Without The Assistance Of An Attorney?

This depends upon the complexity of the estate. If, for example, there is one trustee who is also the beneficiary and the only beneficiary of the trust, that can be handled very easily, and it’s very likely, not certain but very likely, that this trustee will not require the assistance of an attorney at all. On the other hand, there may be multiple trustees, multiple beneficiaries, assets that have to be liquidated and expenses that have to be incurred. Sometimes there are tax returns that must be filed, and accounting that must be accomplished, as well. In such a situation an attorney’s guidance will be very important.

Estates of such complexity generally will require and run more smoothly if an attorney, who is experienced in estate administration, is engaged to give guidance and direct the trustee as to how to accomplish his or her work in administering the trust.

What Sets You Apart In Handling Trust-Related Issues?

Experience and practice set our office apart from many other offices. As you might have noticed from watching professional athletes, there is skill that is developed over time and over years of practice. Both effort and failure bring experience and improvement in the future. Our office has been practicing in this part of Oklahoma for about 20 years now. During that time we’ve gained lots of experience, dealt with some tough cases, learned some lessons, and we are now well-qualified to administer estates from large to small, as well as recognize the possible difficulties that the trustee will be facing and help them avoid many of those difficulties.

Further, if this is a trust that was drafted in our office and maintained with our trust maintenance plan, our office guarantees the trust administration will not exceed 1% of the estate. This represents a substantial savings over the cost of estate administration through the probate court where the cost can easily reach 14 to 20% of an estate.

For more information on Trust Administration In Oklahoma, a free estate planning workshop is your next best step. Get the information and legal answers you are seeking by calling (405) 880-8960 today.