Trustee Manual · Phase 1 of 11
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.
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Death certificates
Order several certified copies. The funeral home can usually request them from South Carolina vital records, and you can order more later if a bank keeps one. Insurers, brokerage firms, and the person who prepares the tax returns often want a certified copy of their own.
Ten is a common starting number when there is a house and a handful of accounts. Photocopies help you get organized. Institutions that pay money usually want the certified one.
Secure what can be lost
Lock the residence. If no one is living there, tell the home insurer, because a vacant house is often a different kind of policy. Collect the mail, care for pets, and secure vehicles, firearms, and medications. Keep the utilities, the insurance, and the mortgage paid, and write down every dollar.
A trustee may act to preserve trust property. Doing that is not the same decision as accepting the trusteeship for good. If you already know you do not want the job, get advice before you start signing at the bank.
Find the trust and every change to it
Look for a binder, a safe, a safe-deposit box, and the file of the lawyer who drafted the plan. You need the trust and every amendment or restatement. An older version can name different people. Also look for a pour-over will, any certification of trust, and the deeds that were supposed to move the house into the trust.
A certification of trust is a short form a bank is allowed to rely on instead of reading the whole agreement. South Carolina lists what it should contain. Do not sign one you do not understand, and do not assume the copy in the glove box is the latest one.
Checklist
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Ask the funeral home, and keep a count of who still has one.
Tell the insurer if the house is vacant.