How to Split a Living Trust After Death
For a living trust to be effective, the creator of the trust (grantor) must create and notarize a trust document as well as transfer ownership of select assets into the living trust. An asset is an item that can be easily converted into cash. A trust document is important because it clearly spells out how a trust's assets are to be split among beneficiaries. There is no guesswork regarding how to split a trust after death.
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Instructions
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Contact the successor trustee of the trust. A successor trustee is an individual appointed by a trust grantor to manage and distribute the assets held in a trust.
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Ask the successor trustee to arrange a meeting to read the contents of the trust document aloud to the beneficiaries of the trust. During this time, the successor trustee may go over provisions in the trust document. For example, a trust grantor may make high value assets conditional upon high school graduation or a beneficiary reaching a legal age.
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Review the instructions laid out by the trust grantor. Only a trust grantor, successor trustee or estate attorney will have control over or access to a trust document. Therefore, if an estate attorney is not involved in the trust, you must go through a successor trustee to find out how the beneficiaries of the trust will benefit from the trust's assets.
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Accept the assets gifted to you as part of the trust document. This can include assets such as heirlooms, automobiles, real estate and antiques. Ask the successor trustee to present you with the deed to any property payable to you on death.
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Sign off on any financial accounts that are payable to you on death. For example, if the trust grantor makes a trust account payable to you on death, visit the financial institution where the account is held with the successor trustee. Have the successor trustee sign over ownership of the financial account to you as directed by the deposit contract signed by the trust grantor.
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