ESTATE ADMINISTRATION
Estate planning is a complicated process. The success of your estate planning and administration depends largely upon the individuals you select to develop that plan and then act as executors or trustees.

One of the primary aims of preparing your estate plan is to make sure your family is secure. A very important item within your will is to name a personal representative (PR). (The older term for personal representative is executor.) A PR is the individual "nominated" in your Last Will & Testament by you and authorized by the probate court to settle your estate. The reason that individual is nominated is because no one is legally able to perform the duties of a personal representative until a court of proper jurisdiction has approved the nomination and Letters Testamentary have been issued. Letters Testamentary is the proof to all that the personal representative has the authority to do whatever is necessary to settle the estate.

The importance of your choice for a personal representative must not be understated. The PR must be one in whom you have complete trust and confidence. The PR is acting in your stead, to carry out your last wishes with care and sensitivity.

A PR is charged by the court to marshal all of your assets together, complete an inventory, establish a current market value for your assets, handle real estate matters, collect debts, interest and dividends. Then, pay federal and state income taxes, pay federal and state estates taxes if necessary, pay final expenses, deal with business issues and, in due course, distribute your estate to its rightful heirs. The PR must then report everything back to the probate court. And if that is not enough, fiduciary law applies to individual or family member trustee just as it does to corporate and professional trustees. Few individuals are knowledgeable of the full spectrum of the responsibilities they are obligated to comply with nor are they familiar with the exposure they face when they fail to comply. And, in today’s multiple family, mixed marriage environment these concerns are magnified.

Investors Trust can offer advantages not available from family members or other individuals. Unlike many other firms you choose, trust is our sole business. A trustee should be available at all times and in all circumstances to meet your family’s needs. An individual trustee, such as a family member, may not be able to devote his or her full time and efforts to managing your trust. Also, that individual trustee may not have the necessary expertise to handle all aspects of the administration of the trust.

• Estate Administration

• Estate Reduction Trust

• Special Needs Trust