Estate & Trust Administration For Dummies, 2nd Edition

Chapter 13

Paying Trust Beneficiaries

IN THIS CHAPTER

Establishing who the trust’s beneficiaries are (and getting the info you need from them)

Setting up the distribution schedule

Making proper distributions at the proper times

Handling beneficiaries who ask for or need unscheduled distributions

Going through all the song and dance of creating the trust, funding the trust, and then investing the trust assets is basically pointless unless you do it to benefit someone else: the trust beneficiary. The trust beneficiary is the person or institution who’s named in the trust instrument to receive income and/or principal from the trust.

In this chapter, we explain how, when, and why you make distributions over the lifetime of the trust to the trust beneficiary or beneficiaries. We give you the lowdown on the information you need from and about the beneficiaries before you can write that first check, and how to determine whether you should ever pay more than the absolute minimum the trust instrument directs you to pay. And when it’s time to completely discharge your duty as trustee, we ...