Page 79 - Successor Trustee Handbook

First, there may be certain disclaimer planning that the beneficiaries must consider and
complete in writing no later than nine (9) months of the Trustor’s death; this is especially
true with respect to the Trustor’s surviving spouse, if any. Second, the surviving spouse and
other potential beneficiaries may have been granted certain “Powers of Appointment”
under the Trustor’s Trust which allow them to direct the future inheritance of Trust
property. It may be advisable for a non-spouse beneficiary to exercise his or her power of
appointment over the Trustor’s Living Trust at the same time that they establish their own
Trust plan (or revise the one they have). Even if beneficiaries do not have Powers of
Appointment, they should not wait until after they receive their inheritance from the Trust
in order to set up their own estate plan; in fact, a beneficiary may set up his or her own
Living Trust and execute an “anticipatory assignment” of the expected inheritance into his
or her new Trust, in the event he or she should become incapacitated or die before that
takes place so that the inheritance will be properly managed and distributed in
accordance with the beneficiary’s desires.

Oftentimes, the attorney assisting you with the administration of the Trustor’s Living Trust
may also assist you and/or the beneficiaries in setting up or revising your estate plans.
Sometimes, this may present a potential conflict and the attorney may advise you and/or
the beneficiaries to obtain your own independent legal counsel with respect to your
estate planning. If you and/or the beneficiaries do your estate planning with the attorney
assisting in the administration of the Trustor’s Living Trust, you will probably need to enter
a separate engagement agreement to do so and the legal fees involved are generally not
payable from the assets of the Trustor’s Living Trust.

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