Frequently Asked Questions

Question 8: What, if Any, are the Costs Associated with Terminating My Revocable Living Trust When I Die?

It depends. If your estate is composed a home and bank accounts, then the cost to terminate the trust estate would be nominal as all that needs to be done is to pay all debts of decedent, collect all income from decedent’s estate and then transfer the balances in the account(s) to the heirs and prepare a transfer deed from the trust to the heir(s). If the trust estate has a number of different types of assets (ex. Stocks, bonds, annuities, IRA’s, real property, then the Trustee will probably need additional assistance from the Estates Attorney and an accountant to Inventory and Appraise the Trust Assets (formal appraisals on real property), file appropriate income and inheritance tax returns, file appropriate tax elections, file any relevant disclaimers, prepare all transfer documents and deeds, allocate assets to the various sub trusts using date of death values/date of distribution values, pay all debts and liabilities of decedent, prepare and furnish an accounting to all the beneficiaries, obtain releases from the IRS and beneficiary(s) upon preliminary and final distribution of the trust assets, and close the estate.

To represent the Successor Trustee/Executor in providing the foregoing legal services, our law office charges 2.5% of the gross fair market value of the Trust Estate, including the fair market value of the probate and other non probate assets in the Decedent's estate.