Trustee's Legal Companion, The: A Step-by-Step Guide to Administering a Living Trust

By Liza Hanks and Carol Elias Zolla

It’s an honor to be entrusted with wrapping up the affairs of a deceased loved one, but it’s also a big task, one you may find stressful and confusing. The Trustee’s Legal Companion shows you exactly how to proceed, keeping in mind the legal, personal and practical aspects of administering a living trust -- all within the terms of the trust and your state's law.

You'll learn exactly how to proceed once you're named as a trustee, including handling paperwork, keeping beneficiaries informed, deciding when and if to call in professionals, and how to work with them once they've been hired. Find out about:

• what the job of trustee entails
  
• determining whether or not to take the job
  
• finding and working with legal and tax experts
  
• what to do with assets that should be in the trust but aren't
  
• subtrust funding
  
• managing an ongoing trust
  
• paying debts and taxes
  
• keeping good records and avoiding challenges to your actions
  
• terminating the trust
  

Unlike any other legal guide on the market, The Trustee’s Legal Companion is written with both the legal and the human element of the job in mind. It will help you gain peace of mind during a difficult time, while saving you time, money, and headaches.

• Language: English
• Publisher: NOLO
• Release date: Mar 19, 2015
• ISBN: 9781413320954

Liza Hanks

Liza Hanks is a Palo Alto, California attorney who specializes in estate planning for families of all ages. A graduate of Stanford Law School, she has also served as an instructor at the Santa Clara University Law School and practiced with the state of California and a prestigious Silicon Valley firm. Hanks is the author or coauthor of The Mom's Guide to Wills and Estate Planning. She also blogs on wills, trusts, powers of attorney, living wills, estate taxes, and probate court on the law blog Everyday Estate Planning.