Trustee Manual · Phase 4 of 11
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.
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The 90-day notice
Unless the trust expressly provides otherwise, a trustee who accepts, or who starts administering a revocable trust that became irrevocable because the settlor died, has 90 days to notify the qualified beneficiaries. The notice covers the existence of the trust, the settlor's identity, the trustee's name, address, and telephone number, the right to request a copy of the trust in writing, and the right to request trustee reports in writing.
"Qualified beneficiary" is a defined term. It generally reaches people who currently may receive distributions and people who would be next if those interests ended. It may not include everyone named in a distant contingency. If you are unsure, sending too narrow a list is the riskier mistake, but a divided family is a reason to let a lawyer choose the list.
Keep people informed after the first letter
The same statute expects you to keep the people who may receive distributions reasonably informed, and to send a written report at least annually and when the trust ends. The report can be practical: assets, values if you can get them, liabilities, receipts, and what the trustee was paid. Bank statements can do a lot of that work.
First-class mail is the safe default. Keep a copy of every letter and a note of the mailing date. A text message is easy to lose and hard to prove.
The contest deadline is a separate decision
A person who wants to contest a trust that was revocable at the settlor's death generally must start the case within the earlier of one year after the death, or 120 days after the trustee sends that person a copy of the trust and a notice that states the time allowed. Sending that package is not required for the one-year period to exist. Sending it shortens the window, which affects other people's rights.
Do not copy a notice from a blog and hope the wording counts. Whether to send it, and to whom, is a conversation with a lawyer. This manual is not telling you to send it or to wait.
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