If my late mother had a living trust with her as trustee and me as co-trustee but I now need to open a bank account to pay her final expenses, what do I call the account?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
If my late mother had a living trust with her as trustee and me as co-trustee but I now need to open a bank account to pay her final expenses, what do I call the account?
And whose SSN do I use to set up the EIN – hers or mine.
Asked on October 22, 2012 under Estate Planning, California
Answers:
Catherine Blackburn / Blackburn Law Firm
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
You should open an account in the name of the trust. Florida has a provision for filing a notice of trust in the probate courts to let creditors & beneficiaries know that a trust exists. Other states may have similar provisions.
You can also apply to the IRS for a tax ID number for the trust. This would be similar to a tax ID number for an estate. I assume you intend to gather your mother's assets, pay the final expenses, and then distribute the remaining proceeds to beneficiaries. If so, there should be no tax beyond any income taxes that may be owed on your mother's income until she passed. There should be no income from trust assets and, hence, no tax. The estate tax exemption is currently $5 million, so there is no estate tax unless your mother's assets exceed this amount.
You may wish to consult a probate & estate attorney or tax accountant to help you administer the trust. It sounds like all you need is a little consultation and advice. One area to look at is your mother's creditors. You want to make sure that a creditor does not come back after 6 months or a year and demand to be paid after you have distributed all of the assets.
I am sorry for your loss and wish you the best in winding up her affairs.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.