FAQs
What types of trusts does Sequoia Trustee Services manage?
- We manage both Estate Settlement Trusts and Ongoing Trusts. Estate Settlement Trusts:
- Require distribution of all assets upon the trust grantor’s death.
- Before distribution can take place, trust assets must be accounted for, managed, and secured to allow the trustee to carry out his or her duties to the beneficiaries.
- Sequoia Trustee Services manages all the steps required to prepare for and carry-out distributions and settlement of the trust.
- Steps include collection and sale of assets, account terminations, appraisals, tax filings, engaging other professionals, minimizing risks to the estate, and complying with applicable laws.
Ongoing Trusts:
- Vary in purpose, including special needs trusts, minor beneficiary trusts and charitable trusts.
- Each type of Ongoing Trust requires ongoing asset management and distributions.
- Sequoia Trustee Services works with survivors, bankers, investment advisors and legal professionals to determine how the grantor intended the trust assets to be used.
- Sequoia Trustee Services manages the security and distribution of the trust assets in a manner that is true to the grantor’s intent while complying with all applicable laws.
How do I make Matt Wayman my trustee?
- Work with your estate planning attorney to ensure your trust agreement and certificate of trust name “Walter Matthew Wayman” as the successor or active trustee.
- Add our contact information to your trust documents: help@sequoiatrustees.com / 720-745-5465.
- Contact Sequoia Trustee Services to onboard your trust.
- Receive a comprehensive Onboarding Report.
- Meet with a Sequoia Trustee for a consultation.
What services are included in Trust Onboarding?
- Gather, organize and file relevant documents
- Identify all relevant deadlines and dates
- Document contact information for all key individuals, including active trustees, successor trustee, board members, beneficiaries and trust advisors
- Provide comprehensive review and summary of the trust’s terms, parties, assets, regulation, taxation, and other factors affecting the trust administration
- Assess the overall trust administration and risk to the trustee, and suggestions for mitigating or eliminating that risk
- Provide information and materials on best practices for administration of the trust
What services are included in Trust Administration?
- Secure appropriate trustee liability insurance
- Secure, protect and preserve trust assets
- Marshal assets into trust and under trustee’s control with notice to and coordination with asset holders
- Review trust assets for management, security, insurance, & meeting trust purposes
- Coordinate the opening of trust accounts for purposes of custody, accounting and reporting of all trust assets and activity
- Provide custody description of trust assets
- Determine trust asset value
- Identify and engage fiduciary accounting professional to maintain trust accounting
- Coordinate notification and communication to trust beneficiaries, and notification to known and unknown creditors and others
- Arrange for payment of trust expenses and bills; record the same as paid from trust income or principal
- Provide or coordinate periodic statement reporting to trust beneficiaries, to include applicable legal notices with review by the trustee’s legal advisor
- Provide or coordinate tax reporting statements to the trust's tax advisor/CPA, review 65-day payments for tax reporting, and coordinate tax filing and payment
- Assist in reviewing and establishing trust beneficiary distributions of income and principal
- Prepare family tree and estate / distribution plan
- Coordinate, prepare and record annual trust investment and administrative reviews with the trust's legal, tax, investment and insurance advisors
- Prepare and issue periodic reports
- Maintain records for trust administration
Why is Sequoia Trustee Services focused on integrity, transparency and care?
- Protection of a trust's assets and beneficiaries is only as strong as the trustee’s integrity.
- Transparency allows beneficiaries to see what lies ahead when it comes to the assets, costs, steps, timelines and intended outcomes associated with trust management.
- A trustee has a fiduciary duty of care to ensure the trust’s purpose is faithfully executed in a manner that protects the trust assets and the best interests of its beneficiaries.