Trustee's Legal Companion, The

A Step-by-Step Guide to Administering a Living Trust

Liza Hanks, Carol Elias Zolla

• Publisher: NOLO
• Year: 2026
• Print ISBN: 9781413333152
• eBook ISBN: 9781413333169
• Edition: 8
• Topic: Law
• Subtopic: Personal Finance
• Index: Law

Serving as the trustee of a living trust after someone has died can be a big task. This book shows trustees how to get organized, get moving, and do a good job.

Living trusts are popular estate planning tools, but when you’re chosen to serve as a trustee, you might wonder where to begin. The Trustee’s Legal Companion has everything you need to get organized, get started, and get the job done. You’ll learn how to:

• decide whether to take on the job of trustee
• set up ongoing trusts for surviving spouses, children, or beneficiaries with special needs
• invest trust assets
• get help from lawyers, financial planners, and other experts
• handle taxes and prepare accountings, and
• work effectively with beneficiaries and distribute trust property.

The author—an attorney who has helped many a bewildered trustee—shows you, step by step, how to administer a living trust with confidence.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• The Trustee’s Companion
• 1. Should You Serve as Trustee?
• 2. Thinking Like a Trustee
• 3. Working With Beneficiaries
• 4. The First Few Months
• 5. Assets That Should Be in the Trust—But Aren’t
• 6. Life Insurance, Retirement Plans, and Other Assets Outside the Trust
• 7. Getting Help When You Need It
• 8. Managing Ongoing Trusts
• 9. Investing Trust Assets
• 10. Dealing With Taxes
• 11. Trust Accountings
• 12. Terminating the Trust
• Glossary
• Appendix A: State Information
• Appendix B: Sample Trust
• Index
• Book Registration