Steady counsel for an important family responsibility.
Serving as successor trustee often brings unfamiliar responsibilities at a difficult time. We handle the administration with you: the required notices, the trust’s property, tax matters with your CPA, and carrying out the trust’s instructions with care.
If the person who created the trust was an American Trust Institute client, their successors are welcome to contact us.
You have been named trustee. What should I do now?
First, take a breath. Being named trustee usually comes while you are grieving, and you do not need to have every answer today. The most important thing you can do now is to speak with experienced counsel before distributing, selling or retitling anything.
An honor, and a serious legal role
Serving as trustee is a meaningful sign of trust, and often a thankless one. A trustee owes legal duties to every beneficiary and can be held personally responsible for mistakes, even well-intended ones. Formal requirements, deadlines, valuations, debts, taxes and real estate all interact, and decisions made early can be difficult to undo.
Transparency protects everyone
Most families begin with every intention of working together, yet grief, money and long-held feelings can collide. We carry out each administration with full transparency and in keeping with what California law requires, so beneficiaries stay informed, decisions are documented, and you are supported in fulfilling your duties.
Counsel and legal work, from start to finish
We work alongside you through the full administration, advising you at each stage and handling the legal work with care, so you can fulfill your role with confidence and give your family the time it needs.
- Counsel on your duties and decisions as trustee
- Required notices and communication with beneficiaries
- Valuing, protecting and managing trust property
- Working with your CPA, or helping you engage one, on accountings and tax returns
- Distribution under the trust’s terms
- Anyone named successor trustee
- Adult children settling a parent's trust
Our trust administration services are provided as a complete engagement, with the scope and fees explained before we begin. We prepare the notices and legal documents ourselves and work directly with your CPA, so we can stand behind every step of the administration.
“Cynthia Lee and Ashley helped me tremendously in dealing with the administration of my parent's trust from what needed to happen when through to the disbursement of the trust assets… I would return for any similar needs.”
Testimonials describe individual experiences. Results depend on the facts and law applicable to each matter and will differ when those facts differ.
I have been named successor trustee. What should I do now?
Take a moment; you do not need to have every answer right away. The most helpful first step is to speak with us before distributing, selling or retitling anything. We will learn about the trust, the property and your family, and explain how we can guide the administration.
Am I personally responsible as trustee?
A trustee can be held personally responsible for mistakes, even well-intended ones. Trustees owe duties of loyalty and care to every beneficiary, which is one of the main reasons trustees choose experienced counsel to guide the administration from the beginning.
What if something was never put into the trust?
In appropriate circumstances, signed documents may support a trust confirmation (Heggstad) petition asking the court to confirm the property belongs to the trust. We review the record and explain the available paths.
Can we meet by Zoom if I live out of state?
Yes. Many trustees live outside the Bay Area or outside California. Most meetings take place by Zoom.
Let’s talk before you take the next step.
Meetings are by appointment, weekdays 9:30 AM – 5:00 PM, by Zoom or at our offices. Call 888.380.2288 or 415.693.8882, or request a time online. Consultations in English, Cantonese or Mandarin.