Understanding What Trust Administration Is About

By Sonya Parrish


The legal aspect of trust administration as well as what it involves and how it works within the legal framework, is something that still confounds many people outside the legal world. The property, which is given to a party (called trustee) to manage, is what is called a trust. The trustee manages the property on behalf of another person (the beneficiary), who is disclosed in the legal documents.

The beneficiary in question will receive interest and dividends accruing from the assets. This will be for a fixed period, which is normally in years. One condition a of trusts is that there is an agreement where a person will have to transfer the title of a property to another party, who then manages the same on behalf of a third party.

Normally, there are different types of trusts and all of them serve various tasks. It could be made to advantage the person who came up with it, which means it is as active as the creator lives, or could be meant to benefit spouses or children of a diseased, or it could just be created for a charity. Just as in the case of a will, the person who created it can make changes from time to time.

The person who creates trusts for whatever reasons is referred to in legal parlance as the settler. In this business, the greatest gainer is the beneficiary or beneficiaries as spelt out in the trust while a trustee only manages the assets in good faith. A trustee who manages the property ought to be very honest because if they breach the trustee duty, they can be charged with crime in a court of law.

The person that agrees to act as a trustee assumes important responsibility, which they must carry out in full accordance with the law. Enlisting the help of an attorney is important because they will give guidance on how to go about the whole process. Even in instances where the trustee runs into some legal problems concerning the trusts, they will be quite useful.

As a trustee, you need to be clearly aware of what is expected of you. Some of the duties of trusties include account-opening, payment of taxes on trust income, proper care of the beneficiaries as outlined in the trusts and keeping of records. Most importantly, a trustee should manage the assets by investing in profitable ventures.

The administrator of trusts or the trustee is also responsible for the distribution of the assets. This should be done fairly and in accordance with the wishes of the settler. Therefore, one needs to act with caution.

The importance of a lawyer in this process is that they help with estate planning and the general trust administration. The responsibilities of the trustee are like those of the legal owner. This is because you will be expected to take care of all the assets as stated in the trusts statements.




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