Trust administration is a complicated process with many moving parts. As you represent the trustee, you must keep in mind the needs and demands of the trust beneficiaries. Though there may be pressure to make trust distributions as quickly as possible, your top priority should be to make sure all of the necessary tasks are completed—and in the proper order. Keep reading for tips on how to make the trust asset allocation and distribution processes go smoothly.

Written by: REBECCA KLOCK SCHROER, JD, & MORGAN WIENER, JD

Trustees face a number of complexities when administering a trust that owns interests in a closely held business. This article focuses on two of those complexities:

(1)  Which standard of care applies to the trustee’s business decisions: the fiduciary or the corporate standard of care?

(2)  What is the trustee’s obligation to produce information about the business to the trust’s beneficiaries?

Because there is no national consensus on either of these issues, this article will first provide an overview of each issue and then review leading cases exemplifying the different approaches taken by courts.

Although trusts are effective estate-planning tools used to avoid probate and minimize estate and gift taxes, their income-tax implications must also be considered to ensure that there are no unintended tax consequences. The drafting attorney should point out the advantageous and disadvantageous fiduciary income-tax implications for the type of trust being considered and then determine which trust is the best fit for the client.