acceptance of accounting form

J

jim956

New Member
Jurisdiction
California
I'm hoping to avoid having to have a formal accounting done for my parents trust, I've heard they can be very expensive. If I (myself) put together a very thorough accounting and send it to all beneficiaries along with an Accepting of accounting letter for them to sign, will that protect me from any beneficiary ever being able to cause trouble for me? If so, can you provide me with a sample acceptance of accounting letter?
Thank-you,
 
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Jim Martin said:
I'm hoping to avoid having to have a formal accounting done for my parents trust, I've heard they can be very expensive. If I (myself) put together a very thorough accounting and send it to all beneficiaries along with an Accepting of accounting letter for them to sign, will that protect me from any beneficiary ever being able to cause trouble for me? If so, can you provide me with a sample acceptance of accounting letter?
Thank-you,
James Martin
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If the beneficiaries aren't suspicious, you'll make the suspicious.

I don't know what you did, but I suggest you put it ALL back immediately.

By ALL means, hire a CPA firm and have that accounting done before someone gets law enforcement involved.
 
Thank-you everyone. My Trust CPA said she would need to charge me as much as 8 thousand dollars to prepare the formal accounting. There would be other expenses to have it approved by the court, it would involve attorney fees and court fees, I haven't been able to find out how much those fees would be. It may be that in order to protect myself, I will need to have the formal accounting done. An accounting waiver has little value because it can be withdrawn at any time. Here is a link that I found quite informative-- Trustee Accounting
 
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That link doesn't work.

What you do depends on the size of the estate, the number of beneficiaries, and how much cooperation you are getting from the beneficiaries.

If the trust involves you and your siblings and you all get along and you are administering the trust assets with transparency and the input and cooperation of your siblings you shouldn't have any trouble with an informal accounting that they approve and accept.

Unfortunately, if there is any hostility among all of you, or anybody doesn't think they are getting their fair share, then you may have to resign yourself to spending the money on the CPA and the court approval. Just make it clear to the beneficiaries that you are spending THEIR money if they make you go the official route.
 
Thank-you for your reply, I think I was able to fix the link that wasn't working.

I'm on good terms with all beneficiaries.

Once an accounting approval is signed, can it be withdrawn at a later date or is it considered legally permanent?
 
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Jim Martin said:
Once an accounting approval is signed, can it be withdrawn at a later date or is it considered legally permanent?
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ANYTHING can be reversed or overturned by a court of law under appropriate circumstances.

So, CAN it be withdrawn (or challenged) at a later date? Yes.

Will it be withdrawn (or challenged) at a later date? Probably not, as long as the beneficiaries are happy with the results.
 

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