Trust Talk
Death and Taxes
Trustee Duties
Who Gets What?
Name the Document
100

This person or entity holds and administers trust property for the beneficiaries.

Trustee

100

This tax is imposed on certain transfers of property made during a person’s lifetime rather than at death.

gift tax

100

This fiduciary duty requires a trustee to put the beneficiaries' interests ahead of the trustee's personal interests.

Duty of loyalty 

100

Dad's will leaves everything to his son, but his IRA beneficiary designation names his daughter. Assuming the designation is valid, this person receives the IRA.

Daughter

100

This document directs how a person's probate assets will be distributed at death.

What is a Last Will and Testament?

200

HEMS stands for these four types of beneficiary needs.

Health, Education, Maintenance and Support?

200

This federal income tax return is generally filed by an estate or non-grantor trust with sufficient taxable income.

1041


200

A trust portfolio consisting almost entirely of one company's stock should cause the trustee to consider this investment principle.

Diversification 

200

A bank account is owned jointly with right of survivorship. One owner dies. This person generally becomes the owner of the account.

Who is the surviving joint owner?

200

This document allows another person to handle financial matters on your behalf during your lifetime.

POA

300

This provision generally restricts a beneficiary from assigning their trust interest and provides protection against many creditor claims before distribution.

What is a spendthrift provision?

300

For federal estate tax purposes, this alternate date may generally be elected to value estate assets six months after the decedent’s death when statutory requirements are satisfied.

alternative valuation date


300

A trustee buying trust-owned property personally raises this classic fiduciary concern.

Self dealing 

300

A trust distributes assets “per stirpes.” A child predeceases the settlor but leaves descendants. These individuals generally take the deceased child's share.

deceased child's descendants?

300

This federal form is the United States Estate (and Generation-Skipping Transfer) Tax Return.

706

400

This type of power of appointment generally prevents the holder from appointing trust property to themselves, their estate, or creditors of either.

What is a Limited/Special Power of Appointment?

400

An estate or trust can elect to treat certain distributions made within the first 65 days of a new tax year as if they were made on the last day of the prior tax year. This is known as what?

65 day election


400

When delegating investment or management functions, a trustee generally has a duty to exercise reasonable care in selecting and overseeing this person or entity.

Agent 


400

Mom receives all trust income for life, with the remaining property passing to the children at Mom's death. The children hold this type of beneficial interest.

remainder interest?

400

This federal form is used to report certain lifetime gifts and allocations of GST exemption.

709

500

This technique involves moving assets from an existing irrevocable trust into a new trust with different terms when permitted by applicable law.

Decanting

500

This federal income-tax concept generally limits the amount of an estate or trust's taxable income that can be carried out to beneficiaries through distributions.

DNI

500

A trustee discovers that a predecessor trustee may have breached a fiduciary duty and caused a loss to the trust. The current trustee may have a duty to take reasonable steps to pursue this type of action

Redress for breach of trust 

500

A beneficiary is also trustee and may distribute principal to herself only for HEMS. For federal transfer-tax purposes, HEMS is this type of standard.

What is an ascertainable standard?

500

This tax document is issued to a beneficiary to report their share of an estate or trust’s income, deductions, and credits.

K-1