Successor Trustee Checklist: What to Do in the First 90 Days After a Death

I just became a trustee. What do I do first?

If someone has died and you have been named successor trustee of their trust, you may suddenly be responsible for bank accounts, investments, real estate, bills, taxes, personal property, and distributions to beneficiaries.

That can be a lot to take on at once.

The good news is that you generally do not need to complete the entire trust administration immediately. During the first 90 days, your primary job is to understand the trust, protect the trust property, identify what needs to be done, and establish an organized process for moving forward.

This checklist provides a practical overview of the steps a successor trustee should consider during those first few months.

If you would rather work from a structured checklist instead of building your own system from scratch, our Post-Death First 90 Days Trustee Toolkit is designed specifically for this stage of trust administration.

Important: Trust administration requirements vary by state and by the terms of the trust. This article provides general educational information and is not a substitute for legal, tax, or financial advice.

First Things First: Find and Read the Trust

Before making significant decisions, locate the complete trust agreement, including all amendments and restatements. Do not assume the first copy you find is necessarily the current version.

You will need to determine:

• Who is authorized to serve as trustee;

• Whether there are co-trustees;

• Who the beneficiaries are;

• What property the trust is intended to hold;

• What distributions are required;

• Whether any assets must remain in continuing trust; and

• What powers and limitations apply to you as trustee.

The trust agreement is your roadmap. Read it carefully before transferring property, making distributions, or committing the trust to significant expenses.

The First Few Days

1. Confirm Your Authority to Act

Review the trust provisions governing the succession of trustees and determine whether you have formally become the acting trustee. Banks, brokerage firms, title companies, and other institutions may require documentation confirming your authority before they will allow you to act on behalf of the trust. Depending on the circumstances, that may include:

• The trust agreement;

• A certification of trust;

• A death certificate;

• A trustee acceptance; or

• Other documentation requested by the institution.

A Certification of Trust can be particularly useful because it allows a trustee to provide financial institutions and other third parties with evidence of the trust and the trustee's authority without necessarily providing the entire trust agreement. The Trustee Handbook offers a Certification of Trust Template for trustees who need a starting point for that documentation.

2. Obtain Certified Death Certificates

You will likely need certified copies of the death certificate when dealing with financial institutions, insurance companies, title companies, government agencies, and other organizations. Ordering several certified copies early can help avoid delays.

3. Secure Trust Property

Your first priority is usually preservation, not distribution. If the trust owns a residence, rental property, vehicles, valuable personal property, or other physical assets, make sure those assets are protected.

This may include:

• Securing homes and other buildings;

• Confirming that insurance remains in effect;

• Collecting keys and access information;

• Protecting vehicles and valuable personal property;

• Maintaining utilities where necessary; and

• Preventing unauthorized removal or disposal of property.

Do not begin distributing property simply because a beneficiary believes he or she is entitled to receive it.

The First Few Weeks

4. Create a Complete Asset Inventory

One of the most important early tasks is figuring out exactly what the trust owns. Common trust assets include:

• Checking and savings accounts;

• Brokerage and investment accounts;

• Real estate;

• Business interests;

• Vehicles;

• Mineral interests;

• Notes receivable;

• Digital assets; and

• Valuable personal property.

You should also determine whether assets outside the trust may become payable to the trust after death either through beneficiary designation or the probate process.

For each asset, record the institution or location, identifying information, ownership, approximate value, insurance information where applicable, and any action that still needs to be taken.

A complete asset inventory becomes the foundation for valuations, tax reporting, investment management, beneficiary distributions, and eventually the trustee's accounting. If you want a centralized place to organize that information, our Asset Inventory Worksheet is designed specifically for trustees beginning an administration.

5. Determine Date-of-Death Values

Many trust assets should be valued as of the date of death. Accurate valuations may be important for:

• Income-tax basis;

• Estate and income-tax reporting;

• Trust accountings;

• Determining beneficiary shares; and

• Documenting the trustee's administration.

Depending on the asset, this may require:

• Bank or brokerage statements;

• Real estate appraisals;

• Business valuations;

• Mineral valuations; or

• Other professional appraisals.

Keep copies of all valuation records with the permanent trust files.

For administrations involving numerous assets, a dedicated valuation record can make this process considerably easier. The Asset Valuation Log available through the Trustee Handbook store is designed to track valuation dates, values, methods, and supporting documentation in one place.

6. Identify Debts and Ongoing Expenses

Determine what bills, debts, taxes, and expenses need to be paid or monitored. These may include:

• Mortgages;

• Property taxes;

• Insurance premiums;

• Utilities;

• Maintenance expenses;

• Professional fees;

• Income taxes; and

• Other obligations associated with trust property.

One of the easiest ways for a new trustee to create problems is to distribute assets before understanding the trust's remaining obligations. That does not mean every possible liability must be resolved before any beneficiary receives anything. It does mean you should understand the trust's anticipated obligations and preserve sufficient assets to address them.

7. Establish a Recordkeeping System Immediately

Do not wait until the end of the year to think about the trust accounting. From the beginning, maintain records of:

• Money received;

• Bills and expenses paid;

• Investment transactions;

• Property sales;

• Distributions to beneficiaries;

• Trustee compensation;

• Professional fees; and

• Significant administrative decisions.

Trust funds should not be mixed with your personal funds. Trust income and expenses should generally move through accounts maintained specifically for the trust. Your records should ultimately allow another person to reconstruct what happened to the trust property.

The Trust Ledger & Investment Log can be used to record ongoing financial activity, and the Annual Trustee Accounting Template provides a framework for turning those records into a more formal accounting for beneficiaries.

For more on the trustee's accounting obligations, see The Trustee's Duty to Inform and Account: Why Transparency Matters in Trust Administration.

Successor Trustee Checklist During the First 30 to 60 Days

8. Determine Whether the Trust Needs a New Tax Identification Number

A revocable trust commonly uses the settlor's Social Security number during the settlor's lifetime. After death, the trust may become irrevocable and may require its own Employer Identification Number, or EIN.

The trustee should coordinate with an attorney or tax professional regarding the appropriate tax reporting structure and any required trust or estate income-tax returns.

9. Contact Banks and Financial Institutions

Notify banks, brokerage firms, and other financial institutions of the death and determine what they require before recognizing you as successor trustee. Do not automatically close or liquidate accounts merely for convenience.

Before making significant changes, consider:

• The trust's liquidity needs;

• Expected taxes and expenses;

• Investment considerations;

• Capital gains and basis issues; and

• Anticipated beneficiary distributions.

  
  

10. Review Investments and Cash Needs

Once you know what the trust owns and owes, determine whether sufficient cash will be available for anticipated expenses, taxes, professional fees, property costs, and distributions.

That does not necessarily mean investments should immediately be sold. A trustee is responsible for prudently managing trust assets during the administration, not merely holding whatever investment portfolio existed at the date of death.

For more on this issue, see Understanding the Prudent Investor Rule and Diversification.

11. Address Required Beneficiary Notices

Many states require trustees to provide certain notices or information to beneficiaries after a trust becomes irrevocable or after a successor trustee begins serving. The specific requirements and deadlines vary by jurisdiction.

Do not assume that informal conversations with family members satisfy any formal notice requirement.

For trustees who need a practical starting point, the Trustee Handbook offers a Beneficiary Notification Letter that can be adapted as appropriate to the particular trust and applicable state law.

12. Establish a Communication Plan With Beneficiaries

Beneficiaries generally want answers to a few predictable questions:

• What does the trust own?

• What am I entitled to receive?

• When will distributions be made?

• What is taking so long?

• What is the trustee doing?

You may not yet be able to answer all of those questions. That is fine. What usually creates problems is not the absence of an immediate answer, but the absence of communication. A simple initial update can explain that the administration is underway, assets and obligations are being identified, and additional information will be provided as the process develops.

It is also worth documenting substantive beneficiary communications. Memories differ, emails get lost, and disagreements can arise months later over what was supposedly said.

The Beneficiary Communication Log provides a simple way to record notices, requests, updates, responses, and follow-up items throughout the administration.

During the First 60 to 90 Days

13. Determine What the Trust Actually Requires

Once you have a clearer understanding of the assets and liabilities, return to the distribution provisions of the trust. Some trusts require outright distributions. Others require assets to remain in trust for years or even generations.

The trust may contain:

• Specific cash gifts;

• Gifts of particular property;

• Continuing trusts for children or descendants;

• Age-based distributions;

• Discretionary distribution provisions;

• Special needs provisions; or

• Special instructions concerning real estate, businesses, or other assets.

Do not rely on what beneficiaries remember or believe the trust provides. Follow the written trust agreement.

14. Establish an Appropriate Reserve

Even when beneficiaries are ultimately entitled to receive the trust property, you may need to retain sufficient assets to pay unresolved expenses, taxes, professional fees, and other liabilities.

Distributing everything too early can create significant problems if additional obligations later arise.

This is one reason there is rarely a universal answer to the question, "How soon does the trustee have to distribute the trust?" For a more detailed discussion, see How Long Do Trustees Have to Distribute Assets?.

15. Decide Whether Partial Distributions Are Appropriate

A trust administration does not always need to remain completely frozen until every issue is resolved. If you have identified the trust's assets and liabilities and can retain an adequate reserve, partial distributions may sometimes be appropriate.

Before making a partial distribution, document:

• The amount or property being distributed;

• The beneficiary receiving it;

• How the distribution was calculated;

• The authority for the distribution;

• The remaining trust reserve; and

• Any conditions associated with the distribution.

It is also good practice to obtain written documentation from the beneficiary confirming receipt of the property distributed. Depending on the circumstances, that documentation may also include appropriate release and refund provisions designed to protect the trustee if liabilities or disputes arise later. The Trustee Handbook's Beneficiary Receipt & Release Form is designed for cash, in-kind, interim, partial, and final trust distributions and provides a structured way to document the beneficiary's receipt of the distribution and the trustee's release.

For a more detailed discussion of when and why trustees use these forms, see Beneficiary Receipt and Release Forms: A Guide for Trustees and Executors.

The Distribution Tracking Log can also help maintain a running record of distributions throughout the administration, while the Trust Distribution Request & Approval Form provides a more formal process for documenting discretionary distribution requests and trustee decisions.

16. Build a Plan for the Rest of the Administration

By approximately the 90-day point, you should ideally have an organized plan addressing:

• Remaining asset collection;

• Property sales or transfers;

• Tax returns;

• Professional advice still needed;

• Beneficiary distributions;

• Trust accounting;

• Continuing trusts; and

• Final closing of the administration.

The timeline may change, but creating one helps prevent important tasks from being overlooked.

If keeping all of these moving pieces organized is becoming difficult, this is exactly what the Post-Death First 90 Days Trustee Toolkit was created to address. It combines the core organizational tools a successor trustee needs during the initial administration rather than requiring you to create your own system as you go.

Seven Mistakes New Trustees Should Avoid

The first few months are also when trustees can unintentionally create problems that become difficult to fix later.

1. Making Distributions Too Quickly

Taxes, professional fees, property expenses, and other obligations may remain unresolved long after the administration begins.

2. Failing to Read the Entire Trust

Important trustee powers, restrictions, distribution standards, and administrative requirements may appear throughout the document.

3. Mixing Trust and Personal Funds

Trust transactions should remain separate and clearly traceable.

4. Keeping Poor Records

Trustees may eventually be required to account to beneficiaries. Reconstructing months or years of transactions later can be extremely difficult.

5. Allowing Insurance or Property Expenses to Lapse

Protecting trust property is one of the trustee's fundamental responsibilities.

6. Ignoring Tax Issues Until the End

Income-tax, estate-tax, and basis issues can affect decisions made throughout the administration.

7. Failing to Communicate With Beneficiaries

Silence often creates suspicion. Reasonable, organized communication can prevent routine questions from turning into disputes.

You Do Not Need to Finish the Trust in 90 Days

The goal of the first 90 days is not to complete the administration as quickly as possible. The goal is to gain control of it. By the end of this initial period, you should have a good understanding of:

• What the trust owns;

• What the trust owes;

• Who the beneficiaries are;

• What the trust requires;

• What tax and professional issues need attention; and

• What remains to be completed.

Some trusts can be administered relatively quickly. Others involve real estate, businesses, tax issues, beneficiary disputes, or continuing trusts that may take considerably longer. A careful administration is generally more important than a fast one.

Make the First 90 Days Easier to Manage

Serving as successor trustee is rarely difficult because of one single task. The difficulty comes from having dozens of responsibilities happening at the same time—while information is scattered among trust documents, bank statements, tax records, property files, emails, spreadsheets, and notes.

The Post-Death First 90 Days Trustee Toolkit is designed specifically for this stage of the process. It gives successor trustees a structured system for identifying assets, organizing records, tracking responsibilities, documenting administration, and determining what still needs to be done.

If you want a more comprehensive guide to the trustee's role beyond the first 90 days the Trustee Handbook (2026 Edition) covers the broader lifecycle of trust administration, including fiduciary duties, asset management, beneficiary communications, distributions, accountings, compensation, and ultimately closing the trust, and includes all the forms discussed above.

You do not need to know everything on the day you become trustee.

You do need a reliable system for determining what comes next.