Trust Review, Amendment, and Restatement Services in Los Angeles
Helping With Your Changing Needs
Setting up your
Trust and never looking at it again can sometimes be worse than not having a
Trust at all. It is the wise and responsible thing to do to periodically
review the terms of the Trust and ensure they remain current, relevant,
and match your ever-changing family dynamic. If this periodic review does
not take place, the beneficiaries end up with unrealistic expectations,
and the Trust may be facing bitter and prolonged litigation that drains
its assets.
The Law Offices of Maria N. Jonsson, PC can assist you with reviewing,
amending, and restating your Trust. Reach out to our attorney to learn
more about our comprehensive
Estate Planning services, which include a review of your existing Estate Plan, and recommendations
about updating it to both current laws, and to your current family circumstances.
Call
(310) 935-0706 or
contact us online for a consultation or to request a Trust review, Trust Amendment, Restatement
of your existing Trust, and other Estate Planning documents.
When to Review and Amend Your Trust
A Trust should be looked over at least
once every three to five years to ensure it is still relevant, and in line with both current law and
your changing circumstances, including the size of your assets, the age
of your children, and specific needs of your family. Change of circumstances
— such as divorce, marriage, second marriage, the birth of a child,
moving to another state, or the death of your named fiduciaries —
mandates updating your Trust. A Trust is updated by way of a Trust Amendment
or a complete Restatement of its terms. If you find that you need to update
it, it is important to have an attorney to ensure that the Trust Amendment
is property drafted and executed.
First-to-Die & Second-to-Die Trust Administration
When one or both of the initial Trust creators (the Settlors) die, the
Surviving Spouse or, if both spouses are gone - the named successor Trustee
takes over the management and control of the Trust property. This often
includes collecting receivables, dealing with creditors, paying taxes,
and, ultimately, making distributions to the named Beneficiaries as provided
in the terms of the Trust. This is not an intuitive process and involves
important legal and tax considerations and strict deadlines.
It is the Trustee’s
duty to ensure the rights of the Trust Beneficiaries are adequately protected.
The Trustee is responsible for maintaining the Trust property income-producing
and giving information and Trust accounting to the Beneficiaries. We work
closely with the Trustee and the Trust’s CPA in regard to taking
control of the Trust assets and marshaling those assets to the Trust Beneficiaries,
rendering Trust accounting, filing personal and Trust income tax returns
(or in some cases, Estate tax returns to claim a portability election)
through final distribution to the Beneficiaries and the Trustee’s
release from liability when the Trust is wound up. Portability election,
federal Estate taxes, asset valuations, sub-Trust funding, and preserving
the property tax reassessment exclusion, are the issues that Trustees
generally grapple with at this stage.