• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • Our Firm
    • About Our Firm
    • Attorney and Staff Profiles
  • Services
    • Asset & Business Planning
    • Dental Practice Law
    • Estate and Gift Tax Figures
    • Estate Planning Services
    • Family-Owned Businesses & Farms
    • Financial Planning Assistance
    • Incapacity Planning
    • IRA & Retirement Planning
    • Legacy Planning
    • LGBTQ Estate Planning
    • Medicaid and Elder Law
    • SECURE Act
    • Special Needs Planning
    • Trust Administration
  • Elder Law
    • Coping With Alzheimer’s
    • Emergency Medicaid & Nursing Home Planning
    • Guardianship & Conservatorship
    • Hospice Care
    • Medicaid Planning
    • Veteran’s Benefits
  • Resources
    • DocuBank
    • Elder Law
      • Elder Law & Medicaid Definitions
      • Elder Law Reports
      • Elder Law Resources
        • Carmel, Indiana Elder Resources
        • Fishers Indiana Elder Law Resources
        • Greenfield, Indiana Elder Law Resources
        • Greenwood Elder Resources
        • Indianapolis Elder Law Resources
        • Lawrence Elder Law Resources
        • Plainfield Elder Resources
        • Zionsville Elder Law Resources
    • Estate Planning
      • Estate Planning Checkup
      • Estate and Gift Tax Figures
      • Estate Planning Definitions
      • Estate Planning Reports
        • Advanced Estate Planning
        • Basic Estate Planning
        • Estate Planning for Niches
        • Trust Administration
      • Incapacity Planning Definitions
      • Is Your Estate Plan Outdated?
      • Top 10 Estate and Legacy Planning Techniques
    • Free Estate Planning Worksheet
    • Frequently Asked Questions
      • Asset Protection Planning
        • Business Succession Planning
      • Elder Abuse
      • Elder Law
        • Medicaid
        • Medicaid Planning
        • Planning for Long-Term Care
      • Estate Planning
        • Avoiding Estate Taxes
        • Estate Planning for Parents
        • Frequently Asked Questions for Families Without an Estate Plan
        • LGBTQ Estate Planning
        • Women and the Need for Estate Planning
      • Financial Planning
      • Incapacity Planning
      • Legacy Wealth Planning
      • Pet Planning
      • Philanthropy in Your Estate Plan
      • Probate
      • Power of Attorney
      • Small Estate Administration
      • Trusts
        • Trust Administration
        • Trust Administration
        • Serving as Executor
      • Understanding Your Social Security Retirement Benefits
      • Wills
        • Contesting a Will
    • Newsletter
    • Pre Consultation Form
    • Probate and Trust Administration
      • Bereavement Resources
      • How to Know if You Need Extra Help With Your Grieving
      • Loss Of A Loved One
      • Probate Resources
        • Carmel, Indiana Probate Resources
        • Greenfield Probate
        • Greenwood Probate
        • Indianapolis Probate
        • Plainfield Probate
        • Indiana Probate
        • Zionsville Probate
      • Things You Need To Do When a Loved One Passes Away With a Trust
      • The Mourner’s Bill of Rights
      • Things You Need To Do When a Loved One Passes Away With a Will
      • Trust Administration & Probate Definitions
  • Reviews
    • Our Reviews
    • Review Us
  • Areas We Serve
    • Boone County
      • Lebanon
      • Zionsville
    • Hamilton County
      • Carmel
      • Fishers
    • Hancock County
      • Greenfield
    • Hendricks County
      • Brownsburg
      • Plainfield
    • Johnson County
      • Franklin, Indiana
      • Greenwood
    • Marion County
      • Central Indiana
      • Indianapolis
  • Blog
  • Contact Us

Frank & Kraft, Attorneys at Law

Indianapolis Estate Planning Attorneys

CONNECT WITH US TODAY(317) 684-1100

Attend a Free Workshop
Home » Trust Administration Benefits Compared with Probate

Trust Administration Benefits Compared with Probate

November 22, 2017Estate Administration Process in Indiana, Trust in Indianapolis

trust administration

Trust administration is a method of transferring assets after the death of a trust creator. This method of transferring assets is utilized when the assets to be transferred are held in a trust. The ability to transfer assets through trust administration is one key reason why many people create trusts. If assets do not transfer in this way, and if other estate planning tools are not used to facilitate the timely transfer of assets, assets may have to transfer through the probate process. There are many benefits of trust administration compared with probate that are worth considering as you make your estate plan. 

Frank & Kraft can help you to understand the advantages of trust administration over probate if you are thinking of creating a trust. We can also explain the downsides of transferring assets via a trust. You should reach out to an experienced trust lawyer at our firm for help early on in your estate planning process and can also get assistance from our legal team if you are actually going through the trust administration or probate process. Give us a call today to find out all of the many ways in which we can help you with trusts.

Trust Administration Benefits Compared with Probate

One of the biggest benefits of the trust administration process is that it can go much more quickly than the probate process. As Investopedia explains, the probate process can take around a full year to be completed. Waiting for an inheritance can cause significant hardship, especially if the person who passed away was a breadwinner for a family and surviving dependents are waiting for an inheritance to help them make ends meet.

Another significant benefits of administering a trust compared with going through the probate process, is that there is no need to go to probate court and a judge does not have to become involved in the process of distributing the assets of the deceased. The only time a case will go to probate court when administering a trust is if a problem arises. In most circumstances, the process of administering a trust is completed without any judicial involvement at all. The stress of navigating the probate court system is eliminated and you are able to keep your family’s financial information more private.

There are also some downsides to transferring assets through a trust, though. The biggest downside is that it is possible for assets to transfer through the trust administration process only if a trust is created before the decedent passes away. There are costs and complexities associated with the creation of a trust, so advanced planning is necessary. The trust creator will also need to pay fees and costs associated with the creation and management of a trust during his life.

Another possible downside: many people also don’t understand all of the implications of transferring assets via a trust. For example, it is a common misconception that if you are able to transfer assets through the trust administration process and opt out of the probate process, your estate will not owe estate tax. This is not the case- assets that pass through a trust can still be counted in determining if an estate will be taxed and can still be subject to taxation. If you are not informed of how trust administration works and you believe that you’ll be able to avoid the losses estate tax can cause by creating a trust, this can cause substantial financial damage to your family.

Finally, since the court is not involved in the trust administration process, it is important that the trust administrator understand his obligations and be trustworthy and competent enough to act upon them. Heirs or beneficiaries should carefully monitor the process of trust administration to make certain that the trust administrator is moving the process forward, caring for trust assets appropriately, and fulfilling his obligations. If the trust administrator does not behave in an appropriate manner, then there is another big downside: heirs or beneficiaries will need to take action in court to protect their inheritance.

Contact a Trust Administration Lawyer

A trust administration lawyer at Frank & Kraft will provide the advocacy and advice you need to determine if you should create a trust and to understand the advantages that trust creation can provide to you. We can also represent heirs or beneficiaries, trust administrators, executors of estates, and others involved in the probate process or the trust administration process. To find out more about how our legal team can help you with all of your trust or probate issues, give us a call at (317) 684-1100.

  • Author
  • Recent Posts
Paul A. Kraft, Estate Planning Attorney
Paul A. Kraft, Estate Planning Attorney
Paul Kraft is Co-Founder and the senior Principal of Frank & Kraft, one of the leading law firms in Indiana in the area of estate planning as well as business and tax planning.

Mr. Kraft assists clients primarily in the areas of estate planning and administration, Medicaid planning, federal and state taxation, real estate and corporate law, bringing the added perspective of an accounting background to his work.
Paul A. Kraft, Estate Planning Attorney
Latest posts by Paul A. Kraft, Estate Planning Attorney (see all)
  • Understanding the Annual Exclusion - January 31, 2023
  • Updated Federal Gift and Estate Tax Figures for 2023 - January 26, 2023
  • Why Estate Planning Is Important for Multi-National Couples - January 24, 2023

Other Articles You May Find Useful

Dollarphotoclub
How Much Does Probate Cost?
Indianapolis estate planning lawyers
Picking the Administrator of Your Estate?
Indianapolis Trust Administration
Who Oversees the Trust Administration Process?
Have you been named as a loved one’s trustee and find yourself unsure about how to proceed with administration of the trust? Learn what you need to know, and see why an attorney might be the perfect solution to your problem.
Tasked with Trust Administration? Get the Help You Need!
Have-You-Considered-the-Estate-Administration-Process
Have You Considered the Estate Administration Process

Primary Sidebar

Frank & Kraft, Attorneys at Law

Download our free Estate Planning Worksheet

There's a lot that goes into setting up a comprehensive estate plan, but with our FREE worksheet, you'll be one step closer to getting yourself and your family on the path to a secure and happy future.

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Linkdin
  • Youtube

Blog Subscription

Where We Are

Frank & Kraft Attorneys at Law
135 N. Pennsylvania Street Suite 1100
Indianapolis, IN 46204-2485
Phone: (317) 684-1100
Fax: (317) 684-6111

See Larger MapGet directions

Office Hours

Monday8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Wednesday8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Thursday8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Friday8:00 AM - 5:00 PM

Map

frankkraft_sidbr_map

Footer

  • Advantages of Working With Our Firm
  • About The American Academy
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • Sitemap
  • Contact Us

Connect with Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Linkdin
  • Youtube
footer-logo

Frank & Kraft Attorneys at Law
Attorney Advertisement

© 2023 American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, Inc.

© 2023 · American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, Inc. | Disclaimer | Privacy Policy | Sitemap | Contact Us