General trust information, not a legal or tax opinion. The trust instrument and applicable law control.
A trustee must follow the trust terms, act loyally, keep adequate records, and treat beneficiaries according to the governing standards.
Read the governing terms
- A trustee's discretion is bounded by the instrument, fiduciary law, and the purpose of each distribution provision.
- A trust separates the governing instrument from the assets it actually owns or receives; both pieces must be reviewed.
- Trustee authority comes from the trust terms and applicable law, not from the title 'trustee' alone.
Confirm funding and authority
- acceptance, resignation, removal, and succession documents
- trust statements, tax records, notices, and distribution files
- the complete trust, amendments, schedules, and certifications
- deeds, assignments, account titles, and beneficiary confirmations showing funding
Administration and exit questions
- What powers and limits does this trust give the trustee?
- What information or accounting is due to beneficiaries?
- Which assets are legally connected to the trust?
- What event activates a successor trustee's authority?
Risks to pause on
- A trustee who is also a beneficiary must still document conflicts and cannot treat trust property as a personal account.
- Signing a trust without completing asset-specific funding steps can leave the intended property outside the plan.