Pitfalls to Avoid in Trust Administration and How Can an Attorney Help

When you are mourning the loss of a loved one, it’s not ideal to be handling the administration of their trust. It not only puts unbearable stress upon you during a time of emotional upheaval but can also lead to mistakes that may be irreversible. 

Managing a trust is also time-consuming, as it requires constant communication with all trust beneficiaries while being concise and detail orientated.

To administer the trust of your loved one, you can hire a trust attorney who will not only professionally handle these duties but give you options regarding how you can manage and utilize the trust assets.

Your Responsibility as a Trustee

You might be confused about your responsibility as a trustee to manage and maintain the trust assets adequately. Trustees take care of the trust property and distribute the property according to the terms mentioned in the trust.

In addition to maintaining and distributing the trust assets, you are responsible for keeping complete financial records that show any transaction regarding these assets as a trustee.

Sometimes, you may also be misled by ambiguous language in the trust itself. To avoid such hurdles, consult an attorney who has previous experience in handling trusts similar to yours.

Mismanagement of Assets

During the administration of the trust, the trustee is responsible for prudently investing trust assets and later distributing the assets between beneficiaries. To make sound financial investments, you will need the help of a trusted professional who can not only advise you but give you researched options. 

A trustee is ethically and legally bound to act in the best interests of the trust. This also implies that you can be held responsible for any mismanagement of trust assets and losses.

Apart from that, a trustee is also responsible for paying any pending taxes before distribution to the beneficiaries. Failure to pay taxes results in you becoming embroiled in liability cases.

Becoming Biased

It is hard to remain neutral when you are the trustee and a beneficiary of the trust. Often, it becomes hard to differentiate between your interests and those of the trust.

The ideal way to handle such a situation is to hire a third party with professional experience in trust administration. It will remain neutral while managing and distributing the trust assets.

Hiring a Trust Attorney for Better Management in Trust Administration

There are many other pitfalls that you can be exposed to when you are acting as a trustee. At times, you may not even be aware that you are not complying with the trust administration standards applicable in your state.

There have been increasing instances of trustees becoming embroiled in legal disputes over the management and distribution of a trust. This is not ideal when you’re going through a rough time and are confused about the proper due process when being a trust administrator. 

In times of loss and mourning, you shouldn’t have to burden yourself with the administration of a trust. Hire a reliable trust attorney to manage administration with ease so you can process your emotions without being constrained by other duties.