Do trustees have to tell beneficiaries about the amount of assets in a trust?
Do trustees have to tell beneficiaries about the amount of assets in a trust?
First of all, there are several different types of trusts, and this inquiry usually relates to a Living Trust. In general, you may not have to disclose the amount of assets in your trust to anyone outside of your Living Trust—and even with beneficiaries who are named in the trust, you only have to tell them if they ask.
A trustee (a person who controls and manages a trust) can choose whether to tell anyone at all about the amount of assets in the trust. If you do choose to disclose this information, you will need to provide it on an annual basis or when there is a "triggering event" (for example, when someone asks for a copy of your trust).
When you use an attorney to create your Living Trust, he or she will draft it specifically for your situation and will be able to help you decide whether or not to disclose any information regarding the amount or location of assets in your trust.
A trust is a legal agreement that directs how assets are managed after the person who owns them (the grantor) dies. As the name suggests, it requires trust in those who are managing the assets, but it also requires trust from the beneficiary. The grantor may have good reasons for not sharing the amount of their estate with their beneficiaries, and you should always respect that.
Ultimately, you'll have to decide what level of information is appropriate for your particular situation, but it's important to realize that there are some factors that might be driving a trustee's decision to withhold this information. It could be as simple as a new trustee getting up to speed on things before deciding how much of an update to provide—if you think this is the case, don't jump to conclusions until you've asked if they'd like any help understanding their duties or getting oriented.
In other situations, the trustee might feel that there's too much risk in communicating how much money is available right now. If there were a sudden spike in interest rates, or if some other unforeseen event were to occur that would drastically impact the value of the trust, they might want to wait until they have more information before sharing details with anyone.
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Disclaimer: This is not legal advice and is simply an answer to a question and that if legal advice is sought to contact a licensed attorney in the appropriate jurisdiction.
