Tag Archives: trustee

Estate Planning

Choosing the Trustee for a Special Needs Trust

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If you have a loved one with special needs, you know that it can be physically, mentally and financially demanding to care for them. It can also be extremely nerve-racking to worry about who will take care of the special needs individual when you are no longer able to do so. To find peace of mind, it is important for you to take action now to insure that your loved one will be not only provided for, but also properly cared for after you are gone.

One of the most effective tools for protecting an individual with special needs is to establish a special needs trust. One of our estate planning attorneys can walk you through the process and make sure you understand all of your options. However, one of the most difficult decisions to make is often selecting the trustee for the special needs trust.

There are a wide variety of government programs that provide benefits to disable individuals. However, these programs typically determine the individual’s eligibility based upon financial need. As a result, it is vital that you carefully plan how any money or assets are given to your loved one to ensure that he or she is not disqualified from receiving the much-needed government assistance. By creating a special needs trust and working with an experienced estate planning attorney, you can provide assistance and financial support to your loved one in addition to the government benefits he or she is already receiving.

When it is time to choose the trustee to administer the special needs trust, it is important that you select someone who is familiar with the laws and guidelines involved in state and/or federal programs. Or, if the person you appoint is not experienced in these types of matters, make sure he or she has the assistance of your estate planning attorney. If the trustee spends the funds of the special needs trust improperly, it could put the beneficiary at risk of losing his or her eligibility in the government programs. Don’t let all of your hard work to provide for your loved one be put in jeopardy. Contact one of our knowledgeable attorneys for the advice and guidance you need in creating a special needs trust and choosing the right trustee to manage it.

The Astill Law Office has provided high quality legal services for over 30 years. We specialize in wills, trusts, estate planning, and asset protection. If you have any questions about creating a Trust, Will, or estate planning in general, contact The Astill Law Office at 801-438-8698.

Estate Planning

What if a Trustee doesn’t Distribute your Inheritance?

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When you discover you have been named the beneficiary of a loved one’s estate, you may be anxious to receive your distribution. This is especially true if you are struggling financially and could use the extra income to make ends meet. So, when the trustee seems to be dragging his or her feet, it can be extremely frustrating.

There are a variety of reasons a trustee is not making distributions to the beneficiaries. One of the most common, however, is that the trustee simply does not understand what is required by the trust. Most people who are appointed to serve as a trustee are not experienced in being a trustee, and it can be a difficult job. Trust documents are confusing and figuring out the appropriate steps to take as the trustee can take time.

Another reason you may not be receiving your distributions is that there are problems involving property or issues in administration of the trust. It is always best to speak to the trustee and/or have legal counsel speak to the trustee to find out the circumstances.

In other cases, however, the trustee may be lazy and not taking the tasks assigned by the trust seriously. In severe instances, the trustee may be refusing to make distributions because he or she is attempting to hide his or her own misconduct. By failing to distribute trust assets, the trustee can conceal the mismanagement or wrongful taking of trust assets.

As a beneficiary, if the trustee is not distributing your inheritance and not communicating with you as to why, it is essential that you take immediate action. The longer your put off getting help from an attorney, the more likely the trust assets will be harmed. A lawyer can review the trust document and conduct an investigation as to why the trustee is not doing his or her job. If the trust is incompetent, negligent or acting intentionally, we can help you seek to remove the trustee or take other actions to ensure you get the inheritance you deserve. A recent estate we read about involved a situation where a period of over 15 years went by. The family let some of the other family members use certain property. After the individuals died, the rest of the family discovered that the title to the property had been wrongfully transferred, sold and funds diverted to other persons. Now it’s too late to do anything! It never pays to wait.

The Astill Law Office has provided high quality legal services for over 30 years. We specialize in wills, trusts, estate planning, and asset protection. If you have any questions about creating a Trust, Will, or estate planning in general, contact The Astill Law Office at 801-438-8698.

Asset Protection

Important Facts About Offshore Trusts

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If you are interested in protecting your assets, you may want to consider establishing an offshore trust. Offshore trusts allow you to transfer your property and assets into the trust and the trustee becomes the party responsible for managing the assets and distributing them to beneficiaries as set forth in the trust document.

Assets You Can Transfer Into an Offshore Trust

There are a wide variety of types of assets that can be held be an offshore trust, including:

  • Funds deposited in bank accounts
  • Investments
  • Real property
  • Intellectual property
  • Life insurance policies issued on your life
  • Most other types of assets

Advantages of an offshore trust

Offshore trusts offer numerous benefits. They are an effective tool for wealth protection, they offer privacy, and they can be tailored to meet the specific needs of your family. Offshore trusts are recognized in most jurisdictions and they be an important tool in estate tax planning.

In determining if an offshore trust is the best solution for you, we can review your individual circumstances and help you understand all of your options. In general, an offshore trust benefits individuals who want to protect their wealth against uncertainty in the economy or within their own family. It can help you distribute your property and assets to your heirs in a tax-efficient manner and in a way that minimizes estate taxes. An offshore trust also allows you to consolidate the ownership of assets that may be located in a variety of locations (including on different continents) in one place.

The Astill Law Office has provided high quality legal services for over 30 years. We specialize in wills, trusts, estate planning, and asset protection. If you have any questions about creating a Trust, Will, or estate planning in general, contact The Astill Law Office at 801-438-8698.

Estate Planning

What Happens if a Trustee Distributes My Inheritance to Somebody Else?

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If you have been named as the beneficiary of a trust and the trustee is not acting appropriately, it is important to get help as soon as possible. Improper distributions of trust assets can be made by mistake or by intentional wrongdoing. Whatever the cause, the quicker you take action, the more likely you are to obtain a successful result.

It is important to understand that a trustee must be fair in his or her treatment of the beneficiaries. The trustee is also obligated to comply with the terms of the trust. Failure to comply with his or her duties could result in you having a claim against the trustee. Some of the possible claims you may have against the trustee of a trust include:

  • The trustee made a distribution of property or the payment of money to a party that was not named as a beneficiary of the trust.
  • The trustee gave a beneficiary an excessive payment not authorized by the trust, which caused a reduction in the distribution to you.
  • One of the contingent beneficiaries that is entitled to receive the distribution of a primary beneficiary that died before the settlor of the trust did not receive his or her share.

There are other forms of misconduct by a trustee that may warrant legal action. If you have concerns regarding how a trustee is managing a trust or about the accuracy of your distributions from the trust, it is important to contact us immediately to protect your inheritance.

The Astill Law Office has provided high quality legal services for over 30 years. We specialize in wills, trusts, estate planning, and asset protection. If you have any questions about creating a Trust, Will, or estate planning in general, contact The Astill Law Office at 801-438-8698.

Estate Planning

Tips for Managing a Living Trust

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One of the most important decisions you can make when creating a trust is who to appoint to manage the trust. The position of the trustee is so important that you should also name successor trustees to replace a trustee who is unable to serve or who passes away. With a living trust, you typically want to serve as the initial trustee. When naming your successor trustee, the individuals you trust the most likely lack trust administration knowledge and experience. Thus, it can seem like an intimidating job, but we are here to assist you and your successor trustees to lawfully administer the trust and diligently protect your wealth.

Some of the mistakes that are commonly made in managing a living trust include:

  • Failing to discuss the appointment with successor trustees. It is important to have a conversation with the individual you want to manage your affairs after your death. You should explain what the trust includes, provide him or her with a copy of it, and confirm that he or she is willing to take on the job. This is not something you want to surprise somebody with! Also, be sure to give the successor trustee’s our law firm’s contact information and let them know we are available to assist them with the duties of administering the trust. This makes transitions much smoother.
  • Failing to fund the trust. Once the trust is created, it is imperative that you transfer your assets into it. A trust only safeguards the property it holds as the legal owner. Assets that are not held by the trust may be required to go through probate and they could also result in negative tax consequences.
  • Failing to include a residual clause. A residual clause is a “catch-all” for any assets or property that was mistakenly omitted from the trust. This may include property that was acquired after the formation of the trust, but not properly transferred into the trust. If you have this type of provision, it can help avoid problems if a probate is required.
  • Failing to update estate plan. It is common for people to create an estate plan, file it away, and never look at it again. However, as your life changes, your will and trust will need to change. Some of the most common life changes that warrant updating your estate plan are marriage, death, birth or even changes in the tax laws. You should review your estate planning documents at least once a year to confirm they still accomplish your goals.

The Astill Law Office has provided high quality legal services for over 30 years. We specialize in wills, trusts, estate planning, and asset protection. If you have any questions about creating a Trust, Will, or estate planning in general, contact The Astill Law Office at 801-438-8698.

Uncategorized

Who Can Serve as an Executor in Utah?

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9017410_sWhen you are creating an estate plan, it is important to choose an individual you trust to serve as the executor, personal representative, or trustee of your estate. This can be one of the most important decisions you make in your estate plan and in protecting your loved ones.

In order to serve as an executor of an estate in Utah, the individual must be 21 years of age or older and fit to serve. The court will decide if a person is fit to serve, but it typically must find that he or she is of sound mind. It must also be established that the individual does not have a conflict of interest with administrating the estate which would inhibit his or her ability to act fairly and impartially.

If nobody has been appointed to serve as the executor and more than one qualified person desires to serve, the court will appoint in the following order:

  • the deceased’s surviving spouse
  • children of the decedent, with equal priority
  • other heirs or named beneficiaries of the decedent
  • a creditor, if no other individual or interested party is appointed with 45 days after the death of the decedent

You should ask yourself if you want to leave it to chance and the discretion of the court and your children or spouse. If you have questions regarding creating a comprehensive estate plan or who to appoint as the executor of your estate, we can help. The Astill Law Office has provided high quality legal services for over 30 years. We specialize in wills, trusts, estate planning, and asset protection. If you have any questions about creating a Trust, Will, or estate planning in general, contact The Astill Law Office at 801-438-8698.