The trust administration process is a preferred way of transferring wealth after a death occurs. One of the many valuable features of planning with a Living Trust is the privacy made possible through this planning technique. This privacy is available only if you have organized the management of your affairs through a trust before your death. Furthermore, the privacy is only assured if you use the Trust Agreement as a vehicle for avoiding the court process known as probate, which requires both that the person who has passed away created the trust before death and took steps to transfer his or her assets to the trust while still alive. We call this transfer of assets to the trust “funding the trust”. It does not involve an investment in new assets or transfer of assets to a new financial institution. Rather, it means changing the title on existing accounts and assets to bring them under the management of a trust arrangement created by your attorney to meet your specific needs. When a trust was properly established and funded, the assets within it don’t have to pass through probate, which can be a big benefit for heirs or beneficiaries. These benefits typically include cost significant cost savings and always include family privacy. 
Clarity Legal Group attorneys help our clients understand the way trusts work and how they would work for their specific goals and situation so our clients can make decide if they want to organize through a trust. We can work with you to understand how a trust could benefit you and your family and why making a trust could be better for your heirs or beneficiaries by allowing assets to transfer outside of probate. If your loved one has passed away and had created a trust, our compassionate and knowledgeable legal team will also be there for you during the trust administration process so you can transfer trust assets in a timely and effective way.
If you are interested in determining how trust planning would benefit you, give us a call to set an appointment for personalized advice about all of the different advantages of working with trusts. You can also read on to find out about one of the big benefits of trust administration compared with the probate process: the trust administration process is a much more private process.
The Trust Administration Process Allows for Wealth to Transfer More Privately
One of the complaints that many people have about the probate process is that the process inherently involves going to court. The court will preside over the process, appointing an executor, providing an opportunity for creditor claims or maybe for the will to be contested, and taking steps to ensure that the will is valid and the entire estate has been accounted for.
As the probate process takes place in court, the court is privy to all of the details of the will and of the estate assets. All of this information becomes official court record. Those court records will be publicly available to anyone who might want to look at them and will include an itemized listing our you assets and their values, the identities of those who inherit from you, and the identity of all of your creditors. Think about those situations where you read stories online about fights over what famous celebrities have transferred to family members — all of this is public in part because the process of settling conflicts or transferring assets happens in court.
Information that most families consider private will become public as to all of the assets passing under your Will. While you may not be a celebrity whose estate information will be published in the front page of the news, you still don’t necessarily want all of the personal details about your finances and family situation being in the public record. The good news is, all of this can likely be avoided if estate assets transfer through trust administration. Setting up and funding a Trust will bypass the Will and also all of the aspects of the Court process which compromises your privacy.
When estate assets transfer through the trust administration process, there is no need for a probate proceedings or court assessment and audit of the assets and activities of your Estate. The trust administrator (Trustee) takes care of the process of facilitating the transfer of assets outside of court without the need for any public proceedings so families can keep their affairs private.
Getting Help from a Trust Administration Lawyer
A trust administration lawyer at Clarity Legal Group will provide the personalized one-on-one advice that you need to make informed choices about the best ways for you to transfer your wealth. You can work with a knowledgeable Clarity Legal Group Trust Attorney to determine all of your options and how a comprehensive estate plan built around a Living Trust can meet you goals and ensure your privacy.
If your loved one has passed away, we’ll also provide the help you need to go through the trust administration process and transfer wealth quickly, quietly and efficiently.
To find out more about how Clarity Legal Group can help you with all of your legal issues related to trust creation or trust administration, give us a call at 919-484-0012 or contact us online today.
by Mark Costley
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