Page 4 - Successor Trustee Handbook
P. 4

CHAPTER 1



                                              INTRODUCTION






         When a Living Trust is established, the person setting up the Trust as part of his or
         her estate plan (the “Trustor”) usually serves as the initial “Trustee” in charge of the
         administration  of  the  Trust  and  the  handling  of  the  Trust  assets.  For  that  initial
         Trustee, handling the Trust is pretty much “business as usual”, with the exception
         that title to assets (and, in some cases, beneficiary to assets) is placed into the
         name of the Trust.


           However,  when  the  Trustor  can  no  longer  act  as  Trustee  for  himself  or  herself
         because  of  disability,  incapacity,  or  death,  then  the  Successor  Trustee  (or  more
         than one “Co-Trustees”) named in the Trust document is called upon to take over.
         Unfortunately, even though the Successor Trustee may be an individual in whom the
         Trustor had great trust and faith in being able to handle the affairs of the Trust,
         most Trustees have never done this before and really have no idea what to do or
         how to do it.   Many Trustors, as well as Trustees, may even think that the Living
         Trust  will  automatically  take  care  of  everything,  without  any  work  involved  by
         anyone!


           The  purpose  of  this  Manual  is  to  give  you,  the  Successor  Trustee,  a  general
         understanding  of  what  to  expect  and  what  needs  to  be  done,  along  with  some
         simple checklists and guidelines to assist you.  As already stated in the “Disclaimer”,
         this Manual is not a substitute for proper legal advice and assistance, but it can
         give you a great deal of help and peace of mind, whether you choose to handle
         the position of Trustee on your own, or with the assistance of an attorney.


         This  Manual  has  been  laid  out  in  the  order  that  you  should  read  it.  It  does  not
         necessarily  reflect  the  chronological  order  of  the  various  actions  that  must  take
         place. The first chapter gives you a quick overview of how a Living Trust works and
         the second chapter acquaints you with certain “Do’s” and “Don’ts” before you get
         started. Chapters 3, 4 and 5 provide specific checklists of actions that should be
         taken upon the disability or death of the Trustor. We have placed these up front in
         order to give you immediate assistance in tackling the important tasks ahead. The
         remaining  chapters  then  go  into  further  detail  and  explanation  of  the  various
         aspects of administering the Trust, as well as providing additional helpful checklists
         and  guidelines.  You  may  want  to  refer  back  to  this  Manual  as  a  useful  tool
         throughout the Trust administration process, particularly as you complete each step
         and approach the next one.




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