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Securing Your Legacy: A Nevada Estate Planning Attorney’s Guide To Working With A Trust Administrator

In this article, you can discover…

The responsibilities of a trust administrator.
How an attorney can help you with tax planning and reporting.
The benefits of allowing an attorney to administer your trust.

What Experience Do You Have Serving As A Trust Administrator In Nevada?

For 15 years, I’ve helped clients administer trusts ranging from routine, day-to-day possessions and assets to trusts that have values in excess of a hundred millions dollars. Whether your trust is small or vast, I can help you manage and account for it.

What Specific Responsibilities Do You Take On As A Trust Administrator In Nevada?

My primary role is to ensure that the assets of the trust are appropriately accounted for and that they find their way to the correct people, as instructed in the trust text. There’s an emotional component to my job, as well. Much of what I do is related to helping my clients identify where or to whom they would like their assets to go. I also guide beneficiaries to identify and achieve their life goals through the entrusted wealth, while balancing these goals with the expressed or implicit wishes of the person who created the trust.

How Do You Ensure Impartiality And Fairness In Your Role As A Trust Administrator?

My main objective is to help the grantor to identify their wishes, goals, and values in relation to wealth distribution, and make sure that these are carried out. This could involve a widow receiving a certain amount of money per year to maintain a lifestyle as her late husband wished. Alternatively, these plans might involve grown children whose fathers wished them to work hard to receive a lump sum after a certain age rather than a monthly set amount. To ensure fairness, it’s important for me to communicate at length with beneficiaries, so they understand why I am making the decisions that I’m making. Fairness also involves the beneficiaries being able to ask what they can do to request or earn more discretionary disbursements from the trust should their needs or plans change.

Attorney Kent Woods is a dedicated, hard-working lawyer based in Las Vegas, Nevada. For over 15 years, he’s helped clients just like you administer their trusts, manage wealth, and ensure their estate plans are carried out with diligence and care.

Have questions about trust administration? In need of legal guidance in estate planning matters? Contact The Law Office of Kent P. Woods at (702) 703-1540 for an initial consultation today!

What Steps Do You Take To Protect The Interest Of The Beneficiaries Doing Trust Administration?

I frequently remind the beneficiaries that they’re entitled to an independent council. As the trust administrator, I can pay these attorneys fees from the trust and steer beneficiaries towards high-quality and professional legal counsel. This helps the beneficiaries know that they are well-represented and that they have a competent and seasoned attorney representing them and their interests.

What Is Your Approach To Asset Management And Distribution Of The Trust?

My primary goal in asset management is to do what the grantor would have wanted. This may lean towards charity, maintaining and investing in properties, or allowing wealth to grow. I make it a point to hire professional managers for properties or investments to make sure the asset is cared for. I also help the beneficiaries understand through periodic disbursements that the trust exists to make their lives better, not simply to sit in one place, grow, and pay attorney’s fees.

Are You Able To Assist With Tax Planning And Reporting Requirements During Trust Administration?

Yes, I can either file related tax returns for the beneficiary or hire an independent Certified Public Accountant (CPA) to manage returns on more complex trusts. While CPAs are skilled with finances, they also tend to over-represent the interests of the IRS. For this reason, I oversee the filing process personally and work closely with the CPA to ensure that the trust is protected from over-taxation.

Why Should A Client Hire As Opposed To Forego An Attorney To Handle Trust Administration?

The alternative to hiring a skilled estate planning attorney to administer a trust is to allow a bank or a trust company to do so. And these institutions can be incredibly non-creative and unyielding in how they approach administering a trust. A bank will likely only advise actions that liquidate assets in order to re-invest them in stocks and bonds. Persuading a bank to be adaptable or think outside the box can be extremely challenging. As an attorney, I take a far more flexible and reasonable approach. I can offer the insights and creative approaches to help you express and carry out your wishes, protect your wealth, and communicate effectively with beneficiaries, as well. An attorney is the most sound choice as a trust administrator if you need flexibility, tailored legal advice, and guidance that takes your values and family’s needs into consideration first and foremost. For more information on Working With A Trust Administrator In Nevada, a free initial consultation is your next best step. Get the information and legal answers you are seeking by calling (702) 703-1540 today.