A trust is usually in the form of a written declaration or agreement. The purpose of a trust is to define the duties and responsibilities of a trustee to manage property owned by the trust. The trust may have several purposes, including management of assets for one or more beneficiaries, probate avoidance, or estate tax avoidance. The purpose and intent of the trust should be clearly defined. A trust may be revocable or irrevocable.

The "trust estate" refers to the property owned by a trust, both before and after the death of a settlor.  A trustee only has responsibility for, and control over, the trust estate. Assets may be added to the trust estate by changing the ownership to the trustee, or by designating the trustee as a beneficiary. For example, the owner of life insurance may change the ownership of the policy to a trustee, or designate the trustee as the beneficiary of the policy. In either case, the trustee will acquire control of the policy proceeds upon the death of the owner.

Trust administration is the process of appointing a trustee who will manage or distribute trust property (i.e. the "trust estate") in accordance with the terms of a trust and the Michigan Trust Code.  

A trustee's duties are prescribed by the trust document and the Michigan Trust Code. Specifically, the trustee must send notices to the beneficiaries, notify creditors, inventory trust assets, manage assets according to the instructions in the trust, pay taxes, pay claims, and account for all trust distributions and expenses.

The length of time to administer a trust varies in each case. However, it usually takes at least five months to complete the process. Creditors have four months from the date that a notice is published in a local newspaper to make claims against the estate. In many cases, a portion of the trust assets are distributed to the beneficiaries while the trust proceedings are still pending.

The cost of trust administration varies in each case. There are two kinds of fees for trust administration:

• A publication fee must be paid to a local newspaper to publish a notice to creditors. The fee for publication is about $100.00. 

• Attorney fees are paid to an attorney who represents the trustee. We charge a hourly rate to assist the trustee with the legal requirements to administer a trust. Our retainer to commence trust administration is $2,500 to $5,000, depending on the complexity of the case.

Please select the link below to be directed our estate administration worksheet. The worksheet includes all of the information that we need to assist you. 

Estate Administration Worksheet

We will guide you through the legal requirements to administer a deceased person's trust. Please select the link below to schedule a consultation to discuss our services.

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