Pyke & Associates not only creates trusts, we assist clients in the administration of trusts. Clients needing help with trust administration fall within a variety of categories:
- They need help funding the trust. “Funding” is the transfer of assets into the trust. Often, another attorney has assisted in creating the trust but not explained or assisted in the process of funding, and clients need to consult with an attorney to determine how to properly move their assets into the trust. For many trusts, fully funding the trust is vital to an estate plan working properly.
- Establishing a trust created by a will. Trusts created by a will are called testamentary trusts, and although the trust document is the will itself, the trust is not formally funded and created until the will is probated. Pyke & Associates provides assistance advising clients how to establish and fund these new trusts, including what tax compliance steps will be necessary.
- Issues with running a trust. A client who is serving as a trustee may have question on how to interpret a trust, the proper way to distribute, problems with beneficiaries, or other issues that have arisen since the trust was created. We are here to provide that legal advice and counsel.
- Trustee non-compliance. Often, we are consulted by beneficiaries of a trust concerned that the trust is not being operated properly, the trustee may be overcompensating themselves, or the trustee is investing the assets poorly. Any beneficiary of a trust, even a future beneficiary, has the right to request an accounting and demand proper compliance by the trustee.
- Contesting a trust. Just as wills can be contested, trusts also can be contested either because the trust maker was being manipulated by others or lacked capacity to enter into a trust agreement. Pyke & Associates advises and assists clients in these trust contests.
Pyke & Associates has vast experience in advising clients on avoiding trust issues and disputes, or rectifying those disputes when they arise. Our broad experience in both creating trusts, funding trusts, defending trusts, and contesting trustees’ actions gives us a broad and unique experience to properly advise clients.