I'm the successor trustee of a living trust. What do I do?
A living trust skips court, but the successor trustee still has real, legally binding duties. Here's the sequence.
If the person set up a living trust and named you successor trustee, the good news is you generally avoid probate for anything in the trust. But you still have a real, legally binding job.
Your first steps
Get death certificates, locate the trust document, and give the required notice to the beneficiaries and heirs (some states, like California, start a clock for anyone to contest). You'll give institutions a “certification of trust” to prove your authority, instead of court Letters.
Then the work
Inventory and value the trust assets, pay the trust's debts and any taxes, keep careful records, and give the beneficiaries an accounting before you distribute according to the trust's terms.
Watch for assets left outside the trust: those may still need probate before they can be added in. A trust only avoids probate for what was actually transferred into it.
Answer five quick questions and we'll tell you whether you need probate and the very first thing to do.
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Yes, for anything actually titled in the trust. Assets left outside it may still need probate before they can pour in.
You give institutions a certification of trust instead of court Letters, along with a death certificate.