Customer Reviews

Your Trustee Duties (Allyear Tax Guides Series 300: Retirees and Estates)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

With all the living trusts out there, this book is an absolute requirement for your library. It will assist you in planning for and then executing your duties as trustee. It combines knowledge from attorneys, case law, income tax code and real life situations. The author has a keen sense of dry accountant-type humor which clarifies serious situations. Step-by-step help, but much more than a simple checklist. The examples will also assist you in avoiding landmines from failing to fulfill your duties by allowing you to clearly understand your obligations and a time-line for execution of them.

I was looking for a book to help me manage a living trust for someone who is still living, so I bought this book. Although this book is quite good, it primarily discusses trusts for someone who has already died (when the trust becomes irrevocable). I learned that after death, there is a period in which the deceased person's estate is "settled" (bills and taxes paid) by the executor, then the rest of the estate passes into the trust. From there, the trustee (who may be the same as the executor) can make use of the info in this book.

I thought it useful to know that all funds should pass through the working (checking) account before being invested so that funds are third-party traceable. Various types of investments (stocks & bonds, loans, collectibles, vehicles, partnerships, real estate) are covered, although most trusts probably don't have such a range of investments, I am guessing. Tax forms 1041 and beneficiary K-1s are also explained.

Although this book is not directly applicable to my current situation, it gave me a "heads up" on what to expect in the future. For that, it is useful. My rating of "4" takes into account the lack of discussion on living trusts (which might be the subject of a separate book).

re If you are a Bencifiary, Executor of a trust, and a Trustee, or, any combination thereof.

THIS BOOK WILL SAVE YOU ALOT OF FRUSTRATION, time, and money with attorneys. Because this book, tells you what they "Attorney's" ( and in this case I mean 'ALL' Attorney's) won't tell you. It also gives good references to follow up resources.

Get a current "Compact Edition of Trust Law" for your state Probate, at the same time you get this book. It will be the best way to know your states probate proceedings specifics.

If you are hesitant to spend money for this book, just do a Search Inside, and go to Chapter 3, Page 2-4, Be Aware of Covetous Attorneys. <--- Read this twice. YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THIS.

You need to know why attorney's are creating a situation to support coaxing you to believe, you need a Trust Officer, Co-Trustee.

This book will tell you, that attorneys' know the statue allows them to receive payment of 2% of the trust/estate every year when it is over 1 million dollars.

This book will tell you, having an outside trust accountant is not infallible. And YOU, as Trustee, are still held accountable, if your co-trustee, or trust official handling the court accounting, or finances, invesments, or yearly accounting makes errors, or absconds with funds.

Often, attorney's will look for the smallest reason to talk trustees in to hiring a professional co-trustee/trust official, and to bring this suggestion before guardianship court to fill their bank accounts, yet they will tell you this is the only way to satisfy your disgruntled relatives. All the while
they are attached to all the management of the trust gonig forward.

Because of disgruntled relatives, you will really need to contact your state bar association and Read the Compact Edition of Trust Law, like you breathe air .... daily.

FINALLY if you are a visual person, you will want to check out the contents and several pages of your interests of the following booK, as it is equally a TEN STAR BOOK ----> The Trustee's Guide An Essential Handbook for Trustees, Beneficiaries, and Advisors (Paperback) by Howard I. Gross (Author)

You need to remember the Attorney is not the boss of your relatives Trust.

If you are the Trustee, you need to let acquisitive attorney's know you are not willing to expense the estate friviously and understand, you and you alone are accountable, without throughly exploring the disadvantages before giving a written approval.

This is oriented to trusts in general, while I needed information on special needs trusts (SNT). A separate section detailing differences between SNTs and other trusts would have been useful. For those things that are common between SNT and other types of trusts, this provided good coverage.

This book was the best informative periodical I could find on the subject of dealing with Trusts. It saved me a lot of grief when issues arose and I needed to address the probate court. This is a terrific guide

This might be a good book if you're Trustee of a multi-million dollar estate, with multiple stocks, million-dollar properties, and yachts. It was not useful for my situation, which I couldn't determine from the description and reviews. If the estate is that complicated and that much money is involved, I'd get an attorney. It would be worth it.

This book gives you the know how in calling out bully trust officer activities. Buying this book will help you leave your ignorance at the doorstep.

the book arrived in a timely manner, it was in excellent condition, it met my expectations.