Details of trust administration needed

[HarriedParent]

Jurisdiction

Washington

Background: I have a revocable living trust, and my wife just died. Our trust document is very comprehensive in describing what needs to be done now to create four sub-trusts for beneficiaries, and funding them, including one which is Special Needs. What it does not tell me (trustmaker trustee) is how to do these things.

What is involved in creating these sub-trusts? Do I need to create new documentation for how they will work? What do I name them? Do they need to be registered with the state, IRS, or court? How do I get a TIN for each of them?

Thank you in advance, I've gotten good advice here before.

 

[army judge]

Background: I have a revocable living trust, and my wife just died. Our trust document is very comprehensive in describing what needs to be done now to create four sub-trusts for beneficiaries, and funding them, including one which is Special Needs. What it does not tell me (trustmaker trustee) is how to do these things.

What is involved in creating these sub-trusts? Do I need to create new documentation for how they will work? What do I name them? Do they need to be registered with the state, IRS, or court? How do I get a TIN for each of them?

Thank you in advance, I've gotten good advice here before.

I suggest you visit with three or four attorneys specializing in estate planning.

Your goal is to hire one to make sure things transpire as intended.

Be further advised, what needs to be done isn't a do it yourself project.

 

[Tax Counsel]

What is involved in creating these sub-trusts? Do I need to create new documentation for how they will work? What do I name them? Do they need to be registered with the state, IRS, or court? How do I get a TIN for each of them?

You'll need a trust instrument for each one, and a trustee for each one. The trust for the special needs individual in particular needs careful drafting to ensure that it functions properly as a special needs trust and won't disqualify the person from any benefits he/she may be receiving. The name of the trust is not particularly important. Often if the trust has just one beneficiary people simply refer to by the name of the individual. For example, if the beneficiary is John Doe, it may simply be called the John Doe trust. It's an extremely good idea to have an estate planning or trust attorney draft the trusts for you. The cost is not likely to be real large for this and it'll help ensure that you get a trust that meets the applicable state law and that works as intended. The (former) revocable trust can pay for the legal costs before its assets are subdivided and contributed to the respective trusts.

As for the TIN, once the trusts are created you can either apply to the IRS for your EIN Online if you meet the requirements for that service, or use Form SS-4 and mail that to the IRS.