Trustee's Duty to Disclosure Contents of Trust

[Thank_You]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? New York

My parents made me a trustee of their revocable living trust. I have one sibling who is not a trustee, but we are both beneficiaries.

Do I have any responsibility to disclose any information, at any time, about the contents of the trust document or even that it exists to my sibling or anyone else (such as other beneficiaries)?

I have every intention of executing the trust exactly as specified in the trust and as intended by my parents. But I am not sure what, if any responsibilities I have to disclose what is in the trust to anyone other than my parents (who are both grantors and trustees). I may decide to give a copy of the trust to my sibling at some point in the future after my parents are gone, but want to know if I am required to do so in case I decide not to.

Thank you!

 

[justalayman]

So there are three trustees?

I can't say if you must disclose anything while the trustors are alive but once they are deceased, if the trust still exists, yes, you must disclose the trust to the beneficiaries and they have a right to an annual accounting of the trust assets and activities.

 

[Dandy Don]

You will need to ask this question to an attorney whose specialty is New York trust law. Many states would give you permission to give a copy of the trust to a beneficiary who requested it in writing, but New York law is notoriously different and might not require you to do so.

 

[Thank_You]

Thank you for the responses. Yes, there are three trustees; both of my parents and myself. My parents made me a trustee in order to make it easier for me to help them administer their trust assets while they are still living and also after they are gone without my having to go through any kind of legal procedure or extra steps to be appointed trustee.

 

[FlyingRon]

First off, you have to figure out what yoru trustee role is. Are you just a successor trustee? If you are a cotrustee your parents probably screwed up. That (without explicit procedures in place in the trust document) implies that you ALL must agree on any action taken (rahter than allowing you to act independently). In most cases, it's nobody's business what the trust is. However, you may indeed have to show the trust to people if you are trying to convey the trust assets to prove that you have the authority to make that transfer.

 

[LdiJ]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? New York

My parents made me a trustee of their revocable living trust. I have one sibling who is not a trustee, but we are both beneficiaries.

Do I have any responsibility to disclose any information, at any time, about the contents of the trust document or even that it exists to my sibling or anyone else (such as other beneficiaries)?

I have every intention of executing the trust exactly as specified in the trust and as intended by my parents. But I am not sure what, if any responsibilities I have to disclose what is in the trust to anyone other than my parents (who are both grantors and trustees). I may decide to give a copy of the trust to my sibling at some point in the future after my parents are gone, but want to know if I am required to do so in case I decide not to.

Thank you!

I am going to give you a different opinion than you have received from anyone else. My opinion is, is that as long as your parents are alive you should discuss the trust with no one. Why?, because its a revocable trust. That means that your parents can revoke, (stop, cancel, change) the trust at any time. It will not become irrevocable (unable to be stopped, cancelled or changed) until after they pass away.

Therefore it would be dumb to discuss the trust with other beneficiaries while your parents are still alive.

 

[Thank_You]

First off, you have to figure out what yoru trustee role is. Are you just a successor trustee? If you are a cotrustee your parents probably screwed up. That (without explicit procedures in place in the trust document) implies that you ALL must agree on any action taken (rahter than allowing you to act independently). In most cases, it's nobody's business what the trust is. However, you may indeed have to show the trust to people if you are trying to convey the trust assets to prove that you have the authority to make that transfer.

I think this is mostly right. I am a appointed a co-trustee as well as a successor trustee. The only part that may not be quite right is that I don't think my parents "screwed up" since I think they understood the implications of this structure at the time they executed the trust. They wanted to maintain control over their assets while they are living but still make it easier for me to help them as they are aging. As trustee, for example, I am able to discuss their accounts with the institutions where they reside. This is very helpful to help them with account administration. You are right about having to show the trust. Every financial institution in which my parents have an account required part or all of the trust document in order to open an account. You are also right that it is a cumbersome structure that requires all three trustees to sign things such as new account applications. That has indeed been difficult from a practical point of view. But even if I was not a trustee, it would still require both of my parents to sign everything... so it is only one additional person. "Agreement" really isn't an issue. I want my parents to do whatever they decide to do with their own assets, even if it doesn't necessarily benefit me. So I am agreeable to help them no matter what they decide. So there really isn't any extra layer of complication with a third "agreer" it's really just a little extra administrative inconvenience.

 

[Thank_You]

I am going to give you a different opinion than you have received from anyone else. My opinion is, is that as long as your parents are alive you should discuss the trust with no one. Why?, because its a revocable trust. That means that your parents can revoke, (stop, cancel, change) the trust at any time. It will not become irrevocable (unable to be stopped, cancelled or changed) until after they pass away.

Therefore it would be dumb to discuss the trust with other beneficiaries while your parents are still alive.

Makes perfect sense to me. In any event, my parents have indicated to me their desire to keep the trust confidential with respect to anyone mentioned in it while they are still living. So my intent is to do so as long as I have no obligation to do otherwise.