EAST BAY Living Trusts & Trust Administration

Oakland Wills & Trust Lawyers

A Living Trust (also known as a Revocable Living Trust or Revocable Trust) is a document which you create during your lifetime which allows you to specify who will manage the assets of the trust (the "successor trustee") and who will receive the assets of the trust (the "trust beneficiaries") after your death.  During your lifetime, you are typically named as both the trustee and the beneficiary of the trust, ensuring that you still have complete use and control over your assets.  As the name implies, you can revoke the trust or make changes to the provisions of the trust during your lifetime.  Unlike a will, which has no legal effect until the time of your death, a Living Trust becomes effective during your lifetime, and provides a plan for the management of the assets held in the trust in the event of your subsequent incapacity.

Using a Living Trust to Avoid Probate

The primary reason given for using Living Trusts is to save the costs and time delays associated with probate administration.  In a Living Trust, the trustee holds or receives title to the assets of the trust and distributes the assets in accordance with the provisions of your trust, eliminating the need for probate administration.  Trusts also allow you to avoid public disclosure of the amount, value, and disposition of your assets.  Probate filings and hearings are a matter of public record, and any interested person can review the documents filed with the court or attend the hearings. 

Trust Preparation and Funding

Trusts require additional initial time and expense over the preparation of a simple will.  It is important to ensure that title to your assets has been properly transferred to your trust in order to avoid probate.  If an asset is not transferred into the trust, a probate proceeding may be required.  As a precaution, we prepare a "Pour-Over" Will which is designed to ensure that any assets that were left out of the trust will be distributed in accordance with the terms of the trust.  We assist our clients in funding their trusts, including preparing deeds and other documents necessary to transfer title to their interests in real property into the trust, and assisting with the transfer of the client's other assets as necessary.  Some assets, such as life insurance policies and retirement benefit accounts, are contractual in nature and controlled by beneficiary designations.  We carefully coordinate beneficiary designations to make certain our client's objectives are met.

Trust Administration

Successor Trustees are fiduciaries and therefore have legal duties and obligations they are required to meet.  Some of these duties and obligations are mandated by the terms of the trust document itself, and others are required under California laws governing trusts.  Failing to comply with these duties and obligations, even if the trustee was acting in good faith, may result in the personal liability of the trustee.  Given the complexity of the law in this area, it is highly advisable to seek the advice of an experienced California trust administration attorney.

The attorneys at the Law Offices of Patrick Z. Riley have significant experience in the area of trust administration, and can advise you on any issue arising during the administration of a trust, including:

• The duties, powers and standards of a trustee
• Trustee accounting and recordkeeping
• Investing and managing trust assets
• Resignation or removal of a trustee
• Modification, revocation or termination of a trust
• Creditor's rights against the trust or beneficiaries
• Administering a trust after the death of a settlor
• Subtrust funding
• Trustee compensation and attorneys' fees
• Income taxation of trusts and estate tax returns
• Property tax considerations when real property is involved
• Estate tax and income tax considerations

Our trust and estate attorneys have a thorough understanding of the taxation issues arising in trust administration, and utilize disclaimers and other post-death estate and income tax savings techniques.

We welcome the opportunity to serve your estate planning, probate and trust administration needs.   Contact the Law Offices of Patrick Z. Riley to speak with one of our experienced attorneys.