• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Sinclair Prosser Gasior

Annapolis Estate Planning Attorneys

  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Call Now: (410) 573-4818

Attend a Free Workshop Trustee School

  • Home
  • About Our Firm
    • About Our Firm
    • Founding Attorneys
    • Meet Our Team
  • Services
    • Annapolis, MD Asset Protection and Business Planning
    • Estate and Gift Tax Figures
    • Annapolis, MD Elder Law & Medicaid Services
    • Annapolis, MD Trust Administration & Probate
    • Family-Owned Businesses & Farms
    • Annapolis, MD Incapacity Planning
    • Annapolis, MD LGBTQ Estate Planning
    • Annapolis, MD Pet Planning
    • SECURE Act
    • Annapolis, MD Special Needs Planning
    • Estate Planning for Young Families
  • Resources
    • DocuBank
    • Elder Law Reports
    • Estate Planning Definitions
    • Free Estate Planning Worksheet
    • Frequently Asked Questions
      • Asset Protection Planning
      • Estate Planning
      • Frequently Asked Questions for Families Without an Estate Plan
      • Legacy Wealth Planning
      • LGBTQ Estate Planning
      • Medicaid
      • Power of Attorney
      • Probate Avoidance
      • Trust Administration & Probate
      • Wills
    • Is Your Estate Plan Outdated?
    • Probate Resources
    • Reports
      • Advanced Estate Planning
      • Basic Estate Planning
      • Trust Administration
      • Estate Planning for Niches
    • Top 10 Estate Planning Techniques
    • Newsletters
  • COMMUNITIES WE SERVE
    • Anne Arundel County
      • Annapolis
      • Crownsville
      • Davidsonville
      • Highland Beach
      • Millersville
    • Baltimore County
    • Calvert County
      • Dunkirk
      • Huntingtown
      • Owings
    • Charles County
      • Charlotte Hall
      • Waldorf
    • District of Columbia
    • Howard County
    • Maryland
      • Clarksville
      • Columbia
      • Ellicott City
    • Prince George County
      • Bowie
      • Fort Washington
      • Glenn Dale
    • Queen Anne’s County
      • Grasonville
      • Queenstown
      • Stevensville
    • St. Mary’s County
      • Charlotte Hall
      • Leonardtown
  • Reviews
    • Our Reviews
    • Review Us
  • BLOG
  • Contact Us
  • Make A Payment
  • Client Portal
Home / Trusts / What Should You Expect as a Trust Beneficiary?

What Should You Expect as a Trust Beneficiary?

September 14, 2017 by Colleen Sinclair Prosser, Estate Planning Attorney

“What Should You Expect as a Trust Beneficiary” by Attorney Colleen Sinclair Prosser

Annapolis trust attorneys provide representation to trust creators, or trust settlors as they are also called. Our legal team helps those who are interested in creating a trust to decide on the right trust type, to follow legal formalities for trust creation, and to create a legally valid trust document. Sinclair Prosser Gasior has helped many people to make effective use of different kinds of trusts in order to protect assets and to protect beneficiaries. trust attorneys

We also represent beneficiaries who stand to inherit from a trust. Inheriting money or assets held in trust can be very different in many ways from inheriting assets through a last will and testament. It is important that you know what to expect as a trust beneficiary and that you make smart decisions to protect your rights and to protect the inheritance that you should receive. Contact the Annapolis trust attorneys at Sinclair Prosser Gasior to find out the ways in which our legal team will assist you if you have inherited assets held in trust.

What do You Need to Know as a Trust Beneficiary?

If you have been named as the beneficiary of a trust, the implications of this will vary depending upon the kind of trust that was created and any conditions that were placed upon the transfer of trust assets in the trust document.

In many cases, a settlor will create a simple living trust for the primary purpose of transferring trust assets outside of the probate process. If this is the case, then the trust administrator who was designated in the trust document will simply begin the process of administering the trust after the death of the settlor. The trust administrator will take care of providing notice, addressing tax issues and facilitating the legal transfer of the trust assets to you as the trust beneficiary. You should become the new owner of the trust assets when the trust administration process is complete.

In other circumstances, however, things may become more complicated. For example, your loved one may have created a spendthrift trust with the goal of preventing you, as the trust beneficiary, from spending the money left to you too quickly or from losing the assets in the trust.

If a spendthrift trust was created, you are not going to be able to simply receive an inheritance, take ownership of trust assets and spend the assets as you see fit. Instead, you will receive income or assets from the trust according to specific instructions that the trust settlor created and you will not be able to control the trust assets at all. You will simply have to live with receiving the trust assets as doled out by a trustee who has a fiduciary duty to manage the trust assets for your benefit in a responsible way.

Some trusts will allow you to take direct ownership of trust assets, but only after certain conditions are met – such as graduating from college or getting married. If you stand to inherit from a trust that has conditions like this, you should make sure you are aware of exactly what you must do in order to inherit and you should work with an experienced attorney to find out how you can move forward with obtaining the trust assets after you have met the conditions.

Whether you stand to inherit right away and take ownership of trust assets after the trust administration, or whether you need to wait to inherit, or will receive your inheritance doled out over time, you need to make sure you understand your rights. You also need to ensure that the designated trustee is fulfilling his or her duty and protecting trust assets. Sinclair Prosser Gasior will help you to take appropriate steps to protect your inheritance and to ensure you can inherit in a timely a manner.

 

  • Author
  • Recent Posts
Colleen Sinclair Prosser, Estate Planning Attorney
Colleen Sinclair Prosser offers years of experience in estate preservation and transfer. A strong proponent of the living trust, she also focuses on wills, powers of attorney, living wills, probate, trust administration, prenuptial agreements, nursing home planning, and special needs planning.
Latest posts by Colleen Sinclair Prosser, Estate Planning Attorney (see all)
  • 25 Years with WNAV - June 22, 2022
  • Capital Gains Taxes and Trust Assets - April 21, 2022
  • Estate Planning Mistakes - March 29, 2022

Filed Under: Trusts

Other Articles You May Find Useful

Annapolis estate planning attorney
What Are the Duties and Responsibility of a Trustee When Administering a Trust?
What Assets Should I Put In My Revocable Living Trust?
Capital Gains Taxes and Trust Assets
How to Protect Against Spendthrift Beneficiaries?
Trust Administration Basics
happy family
Why Do Heirs Prefer Trusts?

About Colleen Sinclair Prosser, Estate Planning Attorney

Colleen Sinclair Prosser offers years of experience in estate preservation and transfer. A strong proponent of the living trust, she also focuses on wills, powers of attorney, living wills, probate, trust administration, prenuptial agreements, nursing home planning, and special needs planning.

Primary Sidebar

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.
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Testimonials

5 Stars
Client Review
September 3, 2020
    

We initiated estate planning following a presentation by Sinclair Prosser Attorney Jon Gasior. We were so impressed, we contracted with them to complete our estate planning. Subsequently, we assembled information on our assets and Sinclair Prosser Gasior did the rest. Correspondence was communicated to our financial institutions and the estate was established. We were very pleased with the courteous manner of the Sinclair Prosser Gasior staff. However, it was their professionalism that made us satisfied we chose this firm to handle our estate. We have nothing but praise for Sinclair Prosser Gasior .

default image
– Walter K.

Blog Subscription

Sign up for our blog to receive all of our latest estate planning news and updates!
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

ANNAPOLIS

900 Bestgate Road
Suite 103, Annapolis, Maryland 21401
Phone: (410) 573-4818
Fax: (410) 573-2802

BOWIE

4201 Mitchellville Road
Suite 403, Bowie, MD 20716
Phone: (301) 970-8080
Fax: (410) 573-2802

MILLERSVILLE

1520 Jabez Run Rd
Suite 300, Millersville, Maryland 21108
Phone: (410) 573-4818
Fax: (410) 573-2802

WALDORF

Hamilton Centre II
3261 Old Washington Road, Suite 2020 Waldorf, MD 20602
Phone: 800-366-4615

Map

map for office

Footer

footer logo
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

The information on this Maryland Attorneys & Lawyers / Law Firm website is for general information purposes only. Nothing on this or associated pages, documents, comments, answers, emails, or other communications should be taken as legal advice for any individual case or situation. This information on this website is not intended to create, and receipt or viewing of this information does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship.

© 2023 American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys| Privacy Policy | Contact Us | Disclaimer | Site Map