What Is Estate & Trust Administration in Indiana?

Executors and trustees face a monumental responsibility. Estate and trust administration can be complex and difficult to navigate without assistance. If you have been designated as an executor or trustee of an estate, you now bear a significant amount of responsibility. There are specific tasks that must be completed by executors to ensure that the assets are both managed and distributed properly and lawfully. Failure to follow these rules means you could be held personally liable to the beneficiaries. There are certain disbursement protocols for each type of asset and the appropriate method depends on the type of asset, how it was owned, the named beneficiary, and its assessed value.

Executors and trustees often encounter other hurdles as well, such as creditors’ claims to assets and lawsuits that impact an estate. Our office has experienced probate lawyers who provide legal guidance with probate and estate administration to help ease the responsibility of trustees and executors.

Issues related to probate and estate administration can be confusing and intimidating. We represent executors and trustees in all facets of estate and trust administration. Our team of experts can assist with the following estate services:

• Limit liability exposure to beneficiaries and creditors
• Administer wills and trusts in probate court
• Assist in avoiding probate when possible
• Resolve and/or close estate and trust administrations through informal family settlement agreements or court accounting process
• Provide estate planning options to avoid probate court
• Ensure a proper transfer of assets

Families and Trustees need to be aware of the administrative tasks and costs associated with trust administration. One of the most prevalent situations when trust provisions call for the trust to be divided into sub-trusts (most frequently between a Survivor’s Trust and a Bypass Trust) from a joint trust between a husband and a wife. These trusts are frequently used for estate tax planning, surviving spouse asset protection, and divorce-and-remarriage protection for the estate portion of the first to pass away.

To be a successful trustee, you need to know a lot of things, and it’s very typical for trustees to make mistakes and break the law without even realizing it. Working with our estate administration team can be a wonderful method to:

Educate yourself on the requirements that the law places on a trustee.
Learn how to best carry out the duties that come with being a trustee.
assist the trustee in completing the necessary documents