Q&A

Q: Am I allowed to name all of my children as co-trustees of my trust when I pass, or do I have to pick one person to be in charge of carrying out my wishes?

A: You can choose either option! There may be valid reasons to pick multiple people to act as the trustee, just as there may be valid reasons to only have one person acting at a time. An experienced estate planning attorney can usually advise as to what would make the...

Q: My mother recently passed away and now I am the Successor Trustee of her trust. In a nutshell, what are my primary duties as the Successor Trustee?

A: The three primary duties you will have are the following: (1) the collection, safeguarding and evaluation of the Trust Estate assets; (2) the payment of debts and liabilities of the Trust; and (3) the timely distribution of the remaining Trust assets to the...

Q: My brother and I owned a rental property together as joint tenants and he recently passed away, but he wrote a will that left all of his assets to his son. Will I inherit his half of the property?

A: Yes you will. A will has no effect or power over property owned in joint tenancy, as the surviving joint tenant(s) will always inherit the interest of the deceased joint tenant, even if the deceased joint tenant had a will with different terms!