Reputable Legal Team in Central Valley Provides Post-Death Trust Administration
Trust creation and administration: Important parts of estate planning
Whether it’s to create a fund to provide for a relative or to offer ongoing support for a charitable cause, a trust is a useful tool to accomplish your goals after you have passed away. If you need to manage a trust, it’s critical to consult with an experienced trust administration lawyer who is well versed in relevant state and federal tax laws and tax codes. The Fresno attorneys at Gilmore Magness Janisse help manage trusts post-death to ensure that an estate continues to meet its commitments.
Managing and modifying trust agreements
For the purposes of estate planning, there are generally two kinds of trusts: revocable and irrevocable. A revocable trust generally ends when a triggering event occurs, such as the death of the creator. In these cases, the trust administrator needs only to dissolve the trust and distribute the assets among heirs. With an irrevocable trust, the trust continues to exist for as long as funds remain to support it. In these cases, the trust administrator must manage the assets, ensure that the required payments are made and pay the trust’s tax obligations.
Due to changing circumstances, a trust must sometimes be modified for a number of reasons, including:
If the trust settlor and all of the beneficiaries agree, the trust may be modified without a court order. This occurs when you must change the amount of payments or the names of the people to which they are paid. If some but not all the beneficiaries consent, the trust can be changed by court action, so long as those who do not consent are not substantially harmed.
If the amount of money in a trust becomes so low that it impairs the ability of the trust to fulfill its obligations, a trust may be dissolved by court action.
This type of adjustment is common in charitable trusts when the beneficiary dissolves or goes out of business. In these cases, the charity may petition the probate court to modify the trust to name another organization as the beneficiary.
The firm’s Fresno attorneys know how to effectively modify trusts so that all parties involved can move forward successfully.