Trust & Estate Administration

With a clear understanding of responsibilities established, we guide fiduciaries through the critical process of taking proper control and management of trust or estate assets. This includes assisting with retitling assets into appropriate fiduciary accounts, securing physical property, obtaining necessary valuations, and developing appropriate investment strategies that balance beneficiary interests with prudent fiduciary standards. We help establish robust accounting systems and record-keeping protocols that document all transactions, providing essential protection for fiduciaries while ensuring transparency for beneficiaries. For business interests, we assist with appropriate management transitions or continuation strategies during administration. We guide the review and management of ongoing contracts, leases, insurance policies, and other agreements affecting estate assets. Throughout this phase, we help fiduciaries understand and apply appropriate fiduciary standards of care, loyalty, and impartiality in their management decisions, ensuring proper stewardship of assets while fulfilling legal obligations to all interested parties.

Proper administration requires meticulous attention to numerous legal obligations and procedural requirements. We provide detailed guidance for identifying and addressing creditor claims, including publishing required notices, reviewing claim validity, and developing appropriate settlement strategies. We oversee the preparation and filing of required tax returns, including final individual income tax returns, fiduciary income tax returns, estate tax returns, and potentially gift tax returns, ensuring all available deductions, credits, and elections are properly utilized. We assist with court-required filings and accountings for probate estates and court-supervised trusts, ensuring compliance with all judicial requirements. We help fiduciaries manage appropriate beneficiary communications, including required notices, periodic updates, and distribution planning discussions. Throughout this process, we ensure fiduciaries maintain appropriate documentation of all decisions and actions, creating protection against potential future questions or challenges while demonstrating proper fulfillment of fiduciary duties.

The final stage focuses on properly distributing assets to beneficiaries and concluding fiduciary responsibilities according to governing documents. We guide fiduciaries through analyzing trust or will distribution provisions, resolving any ambiguities, and developing appropriate distribution plans that fulfill the decedent’s intentions. We assist with addressing specific bequest distributions, funding ongoing trusts for beneficiaries, or implementing outright distributions according to appropriate priorities and timing. We help prepare comprehensive final accountings that document all administration activities, asset values, income, expenses, and distribution calculations. When appropriate, we assist with obtaining beneficiary approvals, releases, or formal court discharges that protect fiduciaries from future liability. For ongoing trusts, we establish appropriate transition procedures as trustee responsibilities shift or terminate. This methodical approach to distribution and closing ensures fiduciary obligations are properly fulfilled while providing appropriate finality and protection for those who have served in these important roles.