trust

[polkaspot123]

What is the name of your state? California , my mom left a trust in my name, how do I claim it

 

[TrustUser]

do you have a trust document ?

 

[polkaspot123]

yes

 

[polkaspot123]

 

[TrustUser]

who is the trustee ?

 

[polkaspot123]

my husband, he went to the bank with death certificate and this is what they showed him, he snapped a pic and doesn't know what to do next

 

[TrustUser]

the pic is not showing up - at least for me. it is not something that i can click on

 

[TrustUser]

are you talking about a trust, or just an acct that your mom left for you at the bank ?

if trust, is there a list of the assets that the trust owns ?

 

[TrustUser]

with bank accounts, a trust document showing who is the trustee, and a death certificate of the owner should be enough for the trustee to take over that bank acct, and do whatever he wants with it

 

[Taxing Matters]

with bank accounts, a trust document showing who is the trustee, and a death certificate of the owner should be enough for the trustee to take over that bank acct, and do whatever he wants with it

(Bolding added.) Well, not necessarily whatever he wants. He'll be limited in what he can do by the trust instrument, state law, and his general fiduciary obligations. There may be debts of the decedent that need to be paid and distributions to other beneficiaries that must be done, for example.

 

[TrustUser]

i just meant he should be the new owner

 

[Taxing Matters]

i just meant he should be the new owner

Well, the trust would be the new owner, yes. But the OP likely would not have known from your statement that is what you meant, and I didn't want the OP thinking he could literally do whatever he wanted once the bank released the account.

 

[TrustUser]

i agree - i could have stated that, better

 

[Edgar 1776]

You can do this yourself, but its not that expensive to hire an attorney, and it will make the process smoother when you deal with the bank to actually get the assets. However if there is a disagreement, or a potential beneficiary hires an attorney and asks for an accounting, then I would not recommend doing this by yourself. Below are a few tips to help you out.


You need to give Notice.........You are required by law to give notice of the trust administration to all legal heirs and beneficiaries. Once the notice has been mailed, any party wishing to contest the trust must do so within 120 days of receiving their notice. Go ahead and send notice to creditors also, so the creditor claim period can begin. Any claims against the trust which are submitted after the creditor claim period ends do not have to be paid. You as a trustee can be held liable if anything should happen to trust assets. Its important to identify trust assets in the beginning because you are responsible for making sure no assets are stolen or lost .

You need to get the Titles.........Titles of assets contained in the trust (titled in the name of the trust) need to be obtained by the trustee. Titles must also be obtained for assets not titled in the name of the trust but intended to be in the trust. Appraisals for all trust assets should be obtained for all trust assets as soon as possible. This can be particularly important for future income tax because of cost basis adjustments. Essentially, this can mean lower taxes due to the elimination of unrealized capital gains.

You need to pay all the debts.... Failure to pay creditors can result in personal liability.

You need to file tax returns...... This includes personal returns of the decedent, trust taxes, and taxes due from the probate estate.

You have a legal duty to prepare a trust accounting, according to the format prescribed by the California Probate Code.

You need to form a Distribution Plan............Trusts can be distributed in a wide variety of ways. Distribution will depend upon instructions outlined by the trust documents and any applicable state law. The trustee's duty is to prepare a plan of distribution that follows the terms of the trust and minimizes expenses.

You need to Distribute the assets...... You must take the necessary steps for distributing the trust which may include title transfers, preparations of deeds, among other tasks required to settle the trust.