How Do I Settle a Trust?
Add the trust's financial accounts, property, insurance, government agencies, and digital accounts. The plan compiles each one's process, contacts, and required documents on top of your state's trust administration rules - into one document.
Frequently Asked Questions
The immediate priorities are obtaining certified death certificates (typically 10-15 copies), locating and reading the trust document, securing trust property, and obtaining an EIN for the trust - at the grantor's death a revocable trust becomes irrevocable and needs its own tax identity. The plan orders each step by priority.
No court proceeding is required for assets titled in the trust - the successor trustee administers and distributes them privately under the trust terms. Probate only enters the picture for assets the grantor left outside the trust, or if a dispute requires judicial resolution. Use the probate decision tool to check whether any outside assets need a court filing. A revocable trust set up through SimplyTrust puts your own estate on this same no-probate path.
Most trust settlements complete in 6-12 months. The main variables are how quickly financial institutions process death claims and retitle accounts, the trust's tax filings, how the grantor's debts are resolved, and whether any real estate needs to be sold. Disputes among beneficiaries extend the timeline.
It depends on the situation. Simple trust administrations - clear terms, cooperative beneficiaries, ordinary assets - are often handled without an attorney. Contested trusts, significant tax exposure, ongoing sub-trusts, or unclear document language generally warrant professional guidance. Consult a licensed attorney for legal questions about a specific trust.
Assets the grantor never retitled into the trust pass through the pour-over will instead. Where their combined value falls under the state's small estate threshold (varies by state, $10,000 to $400,000), they can usually be collected by affidavit without opening probate - see the small estate affidavit. Above it, a probate case runs alongside the trust settlement.
Yes. Trust documents commonly address trustee compensation; where the document is silent, state law provides either a statutory fee schedule or a reasonable-compensation standard. Compensation is taxable income to the trustee, which is why some family-member trustees waive it in favor of their inheritance share. The trustee compensation calculator covers each state's rules.
