Managing Trusts

This section outlines the duties and responsibilities of a trustee. It describes how trusts should be managed and provides detailed guidelines on all aspects of trust administration:

Chapter 8 - Trustee Responsibilities

• The Nature of Trusts
• Responsibilities of a Trustee
• Incapacity
• Revocable Living Trusts That Terminate At Death
• Revocable Living Trusts That Continue After Death

Chapter 9 - Preparing the Trust for Administration

• Initial Steps
• Establishing A Plan
• Establishing Trust Records
• Tax and Other Elections

Chapter 10 - Funding the Marital, Credit Shelter and Generation-Skipping Trusts

• Estate Trust
• Power of Appointment Trust
• QTIP Trust
• Qualified Domestic Trust
• The Credit Shelter Trust
• Pecuniary Formula Clause
• Fractional Bequest Formulas
• Generation-Skipping Trusts

Chapter 11 - Managing Trust Investments

• Investment Responsibilities under a Terminating Trust
• Investment Responsibilities under a Continuing Trust
• Investment Standards for Trustees
• Uniform Prudent Investor Act
• Modern Portfolio Theory
• General Categories of Investments
• Minimizing Risk
• The Investment Process

Chapter 12 - Managing Real Estate Assets

• Insurance
• Environmental Issues
• Maintaining the Property
• Managing a Residence
• Managing Investment Property
• Managing Out-of-State Property

Chapter 13 - Managing Business Interests

• Selling the Business
• Managing the Business
• Sub-Chapter "S" Corporations

Chapter 14 - Making Discretionary Distributions to Beneficiaries

• When Discretion Needs To Be Exercised
• Distribution Guidelines
• Protective Provisions
• The Discretionary Distribution Process
• Documentation
• Loans

Chapter 15 - Maintaining Accounting Records

• Uniform Principal and Income Acts
• Depreciation
• Unproductive Property
• Trust Accountings
• Terminating Trusts
• Terminating Income Interests

Chapter 16 - Fiduciary Income Taxes and Other Filing Requirements

• Decedent's Final Income Tax Returns
• Federal Estate Tax Return
• Fiduciary Income Tax Returns
• Grantor Trusts
• Distributable Net Income (DNI)
• Simple Trusts
• Complex Trusts
• 65-Day Rule
• Generation Skipping Tax
• Retirement Plans Payable to the Trust

Chapter 17 - Termination of the Trust and Final Distribution of the Assets

• Closing Procedures
• Marital Trusts
• Distribute In Cash Or In Kind?
• Distributing the Property

Chapter 18 - Managing Other Types of Irrevocable Trusts

• Children's Gift Trusts
• Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust
• GRITs, GRATs and GRUTs
• Charitable Remainder Trusts
• Other Trusts

Chapter 19 - Trustee's Fees

• Provisions in the Trust Document
• Statutory Fees
• Extraordinary Fees
• What is "Reasonable?"
• Co-Trustees