keeping trust document

[TrustUser]

hi , i am the trustee of my parent's trust. i think i will be able to sell the house late this year. distribute most all of it, and hold back some funds in a bank account for a year after that.

for those of you who have finished the job of being the trustee, how long are you planning on keeping the trust document ?

i get rid of documents once i dont need them any more, so i dont build up too much clutter.

for example, i already shredded my parent's poas - as they are useless once a person dies.

how long am i expected to keep the trust document ?

 

[Taxing Matters]

how long am i expected to keep the trust document ?

My answer to clients who ask this question is that you ought to keep a copy of the trust document at least until the statutes of limitation (SOL) to sue the trust or trustee have passed and the SOL for the various tax agencies to make assessments against the estate or trustee have also passed. So in the states where I practice, in most instances that means keeping it at least 7 years after the trust is dissolved. You might want to ask a trust lawyer in your state what he or should recommend as I don't practice in California. It can be a good idea to keep a scanned copy of the various trust documents on a little flash drive or CD-ROM for longer. That doesn't take up much space. I keep backups of important documents that way anyway.

 

[TrustUser]

okay, thanks. i get to keep it much longer than i had intended !!