Hi everybody, my name is Miranda Dressler, attorney with MacKay Dressler Law Firm in Petaluma, California. So, how long realistically does a trust administration take after somebody passes away? There’s a bit of a myth out there that when someone has a living trust, and they die, that somehow things are going to be automatic. That it’s going to take a very short amount of time, that there’s not much to do, and that the beneficiaries of the trust are going to get their money very quickly. I’m sorry to say that that, and as I mentioned at the beginning, that that’s a myth, because that’s really just not how trust administration works, and generally, that’s not the amount of time that it takes.
In reality, the process of administering a trust often takes many months, sometimes up to a year or even more, depending on what the situation is. And really, that’s the case because there’s a process that needs to be carried out. Even if a living trust is fully funded, meaning all the assets are titled in the trust, and the successor trustee steps in to carry things out, there’s a process and a whole long list of tasks that that person needs to follow, and there are legal requirements. And so, these are things that need to take time. Ultimately, what a trustee’s job in administering the trust is, is kind of to identify what all the assets are, get authority over them, make sure any debts, expenses, and taxes are paid, and then ultimately ensure that those assets that remain get distributed to the beneficiaries.
That’s a 30,000-foot kind of view of what the process looks like. But underneath that, there are things to check off the list, you know, legal requirements, notices to send, you know, properties to sell, taxes to do. And that’s why, in general, the process is going to take, you know, months, you know, as I said, sometimes up to a year or so, depending on the situation, sometimes it can take longer than that. But it’s not something that’s going to be, in most cases, immediate or happen within days. So, anybody that is, you know, the beneficiary of a trust or if your family member has a trust, just have a realistic expectation that you know, it’s going to take a while. Don’t start spending the money before it’s actually in your pocket. And, um, with time, you know, things will get done properly and you’ll, you know, that’s what you should want. Cause you know, we all want to make sure that these things get done correctly. And that, you know, with somebody’s life’s work, right, that is being kind of wound up, that that gets done in the right way, and that the fruits of that ultimately wind up with the people who are meant to receive that. So, if you have any questions about this or any other topic, you should always contact an experienced estate planning attorney in your area, or you can also check out our other content by subscribing to our channel. Thanks for watching.
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