Trust Administration Guide

The Trust Administration Guide by Ann LeFlore walks trustees through what actually happens after a trust is signed — the part most planning conversations skip. It covers the practical differences between administering a revocable trust during the grantor’s lifetime and an irrevocable trust from day one, then breaks the first 90 days after a grantor’s death into eight concrete steps: death certificates, reading the trust, obtaining an EIN, re-titling accounts, asset inventory, estate tax exposure, beneficiary notice, and opening a trust checking account.

From there, the guide covers the ongoing obligations every trustee carries year after year — accountings, tax returns, investment review, documented distributions, beneficiary communication, and funding maintenance — and walks through the six critical failures that most commonly break a trust in administration, closing with a clear, disciplined standard for doing it right.