Trust Administration

After a person who has created a living trust dies, a fiduciary duty arises for his or her successor trustee to properly administer the trust. This fiduciary duty is the highest and strictest duty of care recognized in the law of the State of California. The named fiduciary often is not a professional. He or she might be an adult child, a close family friend, or a relative. Although the administration of a trust has certain advantages over administering over a will, it is still a tedious endeavor from the start.

Fulfilling these and other important duties involving the administration of a trust is critical to effective distribution of a trust. Although administration might seem rather simple, it is a highly complex endeavor that should be placed in the hands of experienced trust administration attorneys.

All assets in the trust must be brought under the control of the successor trustee. This is known as the process of marshalling assets. Assets in the trust should be secured by the successor trustee as soon as possible. They must then be inventoried, and present-day fair market values on certain items might need to be established.