Trust & Probate Administration Trust administration is what happens after you pass away and you had a trust. Property
that passes under the terms of a trust will not be within the reach of Probate. Property
that passes at death through a trust must be transferred to the trust & administered by a
trustee.
Additionally, trusts can be a very effective tool to manage assets in the event of illness, disability or the costs of aging. When families contact Jonathan and notify him of a client’s passing, he assists the family with the procedural notifications required to administer the estate. Jonathan will assist with making sure that there is an accountant to file the last tax returns & do any financial calculations needed regarding dispersing the assets of the estate.
Often there is a family home involved that needs to be sold. Probate is the court-supervised process of administering & transferring your property at death according to your will. Some types of property can pass outside of the probate process. Such property includes life insurance or retirement plan proceeds, and real estate/bank/brokerage accounts. The time frame and costs vary depending on your situation, the state you live in & how backed up the court might be in attending to your Probate matter. Generally, what Jonathan has seen to be true is that the Probate process takes longer to administer and is more costly to the estate.
At the end of the day, Jonathan believes it should be up to you—the client. Being informed and able to make an informed choice is more powerful than a forced decision down the road. The homework that may prove useful to you is to research out what type of time an estate of your size would take to go through the Probate process. Also, what type of costs & time commitments would this also represent. And then you can compare that to the cost of having an estate plan drafted by Jonathan. And updating the estate plan over time as the complexion of your family and situation changes. And the costs that would be involved with administering your estate plan once you pass away. Comparing & contrasting this with the Probate process.
Either route, be it trust administration or a Probate process is doable and is something that Jonathan can likely assist with. Choosing what feels like the right fit for you and your family is an answer only you can give. Feel free to call and we can share with you an estate plan questionnaire. This helps delineate what assets you have, whom you wish to have them once you pass away, what terms that you wish minor children to receive their inheritance, who should be the trustee etc. This questionnaire helps Jonathan so that he can hone your estate plan to fit hand-in-glove with your wishes. Whatever choice helps you sleep peacefully at night is the one that I hope you choose.
