Page 4 - Successor Trustee Handbook

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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