Trust Administration
When someone dies or loses capacity, the trust they set up doesn't run itself: a successor trustee has to step in, notify beneficiaries, pay debts and taxes, and distribute what's there. We guide successor trustees through that job, keep them on the right side of their fiduciary duties, and resolve the disputes that come up along the way.
Talk to an attorneyFounded
1965
Attorneys
11
AV-rated
Martindale-Hubbell
Office
Bellevue, WA
Founded
1965
Attorneys
3
AV-rated
Martindale-Hubbell
Office
Bellevue, WA
Trust administration lawyers for Bellevue and Seattle families
Oseran Hahn guides successor trustees and beneficiaries through trust administration, the private, out-of-court process of settling a trust after the person who created it dies or becomes incapacitated, across the Puget Sound region. A funded living trust avoids probate, but it still has to be administered: assets gathered, beneficiaries notified, debts and taxes paid, and distributions made under the trust's terms. We seat the trustee, handle the notices and accountings Washington requires, and keep a fiduciary out of personal trouble while the trust does what it was built to do.
Trust administration runs on a different track than probate: no court, but the same need to do it right. We seat the successor trustee and establish their authority. We send the beneficiary notices and keep the trustee inside their duties. We marshal, value, and invest the assets. We fund any subtrusts, handle the taxes, and distribute. And when the trust needs fixing or a dispute breaks out, we resolve it.
Stepping in as successor trustee
When the grantor dies or is found incapacitated, a revocable living trust becomes irrevocable and the successor trustee takes over, without a court appointment. We get you properly seated: documenting the trigger, accepting the trusteeship, obtaining a tax ID for the now-irrevocable trust, and producing a certification of trust so banks and brokerages recognize your authority. We confirm the powers the trust and Washington law give you to act (RCW 11.98.070), because the first few weeks set the tone for everything that follows.
Notifying beneficiaries and the duties you now owe
Washington requires the trustee to notify beneficiaries within 60 days of the trust becoming irrevocable or of accepting the role (RCW 11.98.072), and from that point you owe them real fiduciary duties: loyalty, impartiality between income and remainder beneficiaries, and prudent management. We send the required notices, explain what beneficiaries are and aren't entitled to, and keep the trustee compliant. The same notice also starts the clock that limits how long a beneficiary has to challenge the trust.
Marshaling, valuing, and managing the assets
The trustee has to identify, secure, and value everything the trust holds. We help inventory the assets, obtain date-of-death valuations, which matter for the step-up in basis, and invest prudently under Washington's prudent investor rule (RCW 11.100). We pay the grantor's final debts and the expenses of administration, and we handle the harder assets, real estate, a closely held business, or out-of-state property, that a trust often contains.
Funding subtrusts, handling taxes, and distributing
For married couples, a trust often splits into subtrusts, a survivor's or marital trust and a credit-shelter or bypass trust, at the first death, and getting that funding and the tax elections right has lasting consequences. We prepare the trustee's accounting (RCW 11.106), file the trust's income tax returns and any Washington (RCW 83.100) or federal estate tax return, and distribute to beneficiaries under the trust's terms, outright or into continuing trusts for minor or special-needs beneficiaries.
Changing or fixing a trust, and resolving disputes
Sometimes the trust no longer fits: a term is ambiguous, circumstances have changed, or beneficiaries disagree with the trustee. Washington's TEDRA (RCW 11.96A) lets the parties resolve trust matters by binding nonjudicial agreement or, when they can't, in court, and a trust can sometimes be modified or decanted into a better one (RCW 11.107). A beneficiary can also contest the trust, but only within the window Washington's trust act allows (RCW 11.103). We handle the agreements, the modifications, and the fights when they come.
Sixty years of Pacific Northwest estate work means we know what Washington requires of a trustee, where fiduciaries get themselves sued, and how to use TEDRA to settle the disagreements that would otherwise end up in court.
We seat the trustee correctly.
The first weeks matter most: accepting the role, getting a tax ID, producing a certification of trust, and confirming your powers. Get the setup right and the institutions deal with you instead of stalling.
Fiduciary duty means personal liability.
A trustee can be sued for self-dealing, favoring a beneficiary, investing badly, or failing to account. We keep you compliant with the notices, accountings, and prudent-investment rules, which is what keeps a beneficiary's lawyer away.
We fix and settle without a courtroom.
Most trust problems, ambiguous terms, changed circumstances, a beneficiary dispute, can be resolved through a TEDRA agreement or a modification. We use the quiet path first and litigate only when we have to.
The attorneys behindthe work.
Our business and corporate attorneys handle this work alongside our litigation team, so you have coverage whether your matter stays transactional or becomes something more.
What clientsask us first.
What's the difference between probate and trust administration?
Probate is the court process for assets that pass under a will; trust administration is the private, out-of-court process for assets held in a trust. A funded living trust avoids probate, but it doesn't avoid administration: a successor trustee still has to notify beneficiaries, pay debts, handle taxes, and distribute. The upside is that it's faster, private, and not supervised by a judge.
I've just become successor trustee. What do I do first?
A few things, quickly. Secure the trust assets, get a death certificate, read the trust to understand your powers and the distribution plan, obtain a tax ID for the trust, and send beneficiaries the notice Washington requires within 60 days (RCW 11.98.072). It's also the moment to bring in a lawyer, because from here you're a fiduciary and the mistakes are personal.
Do I have to give beneficiaries information and an accounting?
Yes. Washington trustees owe beneficiaries notice and, on request or under the trust's terms, a regular accounting of what the trust holds, what it earned, and what was paid out (RCW 11.106). Beneficiaries are entitled to enough information to protect their interest. We prepare accountings that satisfy the duty and, just as important, head off the suspicion that drives most trust disputes.
Can a trust be changed after the person who created it dies?
Sometimes. The trust is usually irrevocable at that point, but Washington still allows changes through a TEDRA agreement among the affected parties, a court modification, or decanting the trust into a new one where the law permits (RCW 11.107). It isn't unlimited, and it depends on the trust and who agrees. We tell you what's actually possible before anyone spends money fighting over it.
Can I be sued as trustee?
Yes, and it's the risk people underestimate. As a fiduciary you can be held personally liable for self-dealing, favoring one beneficiary over another, investing imprudently, or failing to account. Most claims trace back to poor communication and sloppy records. We keep you on the right side of the duties and the documentation, which is the best protection there is.
How long does trust administration take?
A simple administration, distribute and close, can wrap in a few months; one that funds subtrusts, files an estate tax return, or holds assets for years for minor or special-needs beneficiaries runs much longer. The variables are the assets, the taxes, and whether the beneficiaries get along. We give you a real timeline and keep it moving.
Recentarticles.
Trust administration for successor trustees and beneficiaries, handled privately and without the court when the law allows.
Oseran Hahn P.S. · 11225 SE 6th St, Suite 100 · Bellevue, WA 98004
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