Trustee Manual
How a South Carolina revocable trust is usually settled.
Work the phase that matches where you are. The order is a path, not a statute. A bank deadline or a funeral bill can pull a later task forward. Checked steps stay on this device.
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Phase 1
First days
The first week is for protecting people and property, and for finding the papers. You do not have to understand the whole trust today.
Phase 2
Accepting the trusteeship
You can say yes, and you can say no. The trust names an order of successors for that reason. Decide on purpose.
Phase 3
EIN and trust accounts
After death, the trust needs its own taxpayer number. New accounts are opened in the trustee's name, for the trust, not in your personal name.
Phase 4
Notifying beneficiaries
South Carolina expects a new trustee of an irrevocable trust to tell the qualified beneficiaries that the trust exists and how to reach you.
Phase 5
Inventory and valuation
You cannot settle what you have not listed. Values are as of the date of death, not as of the day you happen to open the mail.
Phase 6
Real estate and retitling
The deed controls the house, not a sentence in the trust that hoped the house was included. Read the recorded deed.
Phase 7
Creditors and probate
A trust does not erase the funeral bill, the last illness, or the credit cards. Pay attention to creditors before you pay beneficiaries.
Phase 8
Tax returns
Plan on more than one return, and plan on a preparer who has filed a fiduciary return before. This manual cannot tell you what this family owes.
Phase 9
Accountings
You have to be able to show where every dollar went. A plain spreadsheet plus the bank statements is enough if it is complete.
Phase 10
Red flags and disputes
Some settlements should not be finished from a checklist. Pausing to hire a lawyer is part of doing the job, not a failure at it.
Phase 11
Final distribution
Distribution is the last step, not the first. Checks, deeds, and receipts come after the bills, the taxes, and a report the beneficiaries can read.
Statute references are general and point at the South Carolina Trust Code. The law changes. This manual is general information, not advice about your trust.