Probate & Trust Administration

Probate

We are here to assist you in navigating the probate process so you can grieve and take care of yourself and your loved ones.

Probate is the legal process transferring the property of an estate to the heirs and legatees (people who are named recipients in a Last Will & Testament). Probate also involves paying off all the deceased person’s legitimate creditors and doing the final tax filings (remember, death and taxes). This process can be as short as six months or take years for a standard estate. It is often overwhelming for anyone who has just lost a loved one. That is where we can step in and help. We will administer the estate and shuffle it through the probate process with the courts and the Register of Wills, so you don’t have to worry about it, or, if you are a more hands-on type, we can simply advise you as you step up and take on the mantle of Personal Representative.

Trust Administration

When a Trust is created a trustee (and likely successor trustee) is appointed. This is common to all Trusts, whether it be a large Trust created for tax efficiency and wealth preservation or a more modest Trust, created by a regular person to maintain privacy and ease the transfer of an estate to the people they care about in a timely manner (avoiding the months or years that probate could take). A Trustee is tasked with administering the Trust during life or after the death of the person who created the Trust. Trust administration includes, among other things: making distributions to beneficiaries in accordance with the Trust instructions, settling any debts of the Trust, retitling or transferring property into, out of, or within the Trust; keeping the required records and accounts, and filing and paying the taxes for the Trust.

The Trustee is a fiduciary; this means that if the Trustee fails to act in accordance with the Trust instructions or in the best interests of the Beneficiaries, he or she can be held personally liable for any losses that the Trust suffers or for damages the Beneficiaries incur. As the legal owner of someone else’s property, the Trustee assumes a position of power, responsibility, and control over the property, but he or she has to make sure that the property is always handled for the benefit of the Trust’s beneficiaries, even if doing so is an inconvenience or detriment for the Trustee.

Here at Condliffe Law, we offer Trust administration services.

There are many steps involved in Trust administration, and to do it properly, it’s important for the Trustee to understand his or her obligations and responsibilities under the law and according to the Trust’s instructions. The Condliffe Law Firm can either assume this responsibility for you, the Client/Trustee, or help and advise you, the Client/Trustee, as you navigate this complex task. Moreover, when creating a Trust for a client, our firm can either administer a Trust directly as the Trustee, or we can stand ready to advise the Client/Trustee in carrying out his or her duties in administering a Trust.

Lastly, we are here to assist Beneficiaries in understanding their rights and the duties owed to them by the Trustee.

Whatever your Trust needs may be, we hope that you will consider seeking the expert advice of our firm.