What should I do when someone with a trust dies?

If the decedent had a trust, then the trustee needs to administer the trust.  When administering a trust in Arizona, the process is similar to a probate – the main difference being that you probably won’t have to file anything with the Court.  As with a probate, you have to publish Notice to Creditors, obtain an EIN/TIN from the IRS, there needs to be an inventory/appraisement/accounting of assets, as well as other required notices.  What often happens is that the trustors neglect to title all of their assets in the name of the trust, in which case it is sometimes necessary to do both a probate and a trust administration.  Most trusts come with Pour Over Wills which “pour” assets that are not titled in the name of the trust into the trust when one or both of the trustors die.  But, in order to do that, the will usually needs to go through probate, depending on the value and type of assets in question.

See Arizona Revised Statutes Title 14, Chapter 11, Article 8 for a list of the duties of a trustee.  You can try to tackle this alone, or you can hire Arizona Probate, LLC to assist the trustee with the Trust Administration.  See our Services page for details and fees. 

The information on this website is for informational purposes only, and should not be construed as legal advice.