Has the executor or trustee died? When dealing with the legal process, there can be lots of difficult procedural issues that need to be dealt with, such as death of an executor or trustee, and probate matters are no exception. In addition to getting probate started, the executor of the will is responsible for gathering the estate’s assets, paying its debts, and distributing the remaining assets to its beneficiaries. Trustees have a similar list of important jobs with respect to the trusts they administer, as they must ensure that the assets in the trust are handled with the utmost care and distributed according to the provisions in the trust documents. In some unfortunate circumstances, an executor or trustee may pass away before his or her responsibilities have been completed.
In the case of an executor. Any person seeking to become the administrator (same as executor), should apply to the court to issue new letters testamentary naming a new executor. If there is no co-executor, and the will names a back-up executor, the court will appoint the successor, unless there is cause not to appoint that person. If there are no back-up executors named in the will, then the court will then look to other surviving family members or even a neutral third-party, such as a professional fiduciary.
In the case of a trust, what happens next will depend in part on what type of trust was created by the original trust documents. For example, in the case of a revocable trust, the original trustee is often the same person as the settlor. Upon the settlor’s death, there is then a successor trustee that will have been named in the original trust documents. The successor trustee will have many duties to perform at the beginning, such as notifying any potential new beneficiaries of the trust, identifying and gathering the assets of the trust, filing the proper tax documents, and then continuing to administer the trust in accordance with the trust documents, if the trust is to stay in existence. In the case of an irrevocable trust, like a will, the proper procedure is to look to the trust documents to check for alternate trustees and if none are available, to ask the court to name a new trustee. We can help you get a new trustee appointed. Call us at 818.340.4479 for more information on replacing a trustee.
If you have questions about the administration of trusts and wills, contact us today. We have experience in assisting our clients.
