A Successor Trustee's First 90 Days in Pennsylvania

Being named a successor trustee is an honor and, often, a genuine surprise in the middle of grief. Pennsylvania's Uniform Trust Act, 20 Pa.C.S. Chapter 77, imposes real legal duties on a trustee from the moment they accept the role — duties that come with personal exposure if they are handled carelessly. The good news is that the first ninety days can be broken into a manageable checklist. Here is what that looks like.

Days 1-14: get organized and formally accept

The first two weeks are about paperwork and orientation, not distributions.

• Order certified death certificates. Order at least ten to fifteen copies; nearly every institution you deal with will want an original.
• Locate and read the entire trust document, including any amendments. Do not rely on a summary from a family member — read the actual instrument, cover to cover, so you know exactly who the beneficiaries are, what discretion you have, and what specific instructions the settlor left.
• Formally accept the trusteeship. Under 20 Pa.C.S. § 7761, a person named as successor trustee accepts the role either by substantially complying with the terms of the trust or by acting as trustee. It is good practice to sign a written acceptance for your own file and to notify beneficiaries in writing that you have accepted.
• Give the required notice to beneficiaries. The Pennsylvania duty to inform and report, codified at 20 Pa.C.S. § 7780.3, requires a trustee to notify "qualified beneficiaries" of the trust's existence, the trustee's identity and contact information, and their right to request a copy of the trust terms and an accounting. Doing this early, in writing, heads off a lot of later friction and mistrust.
• Secure the property. Change locks if needed, confirm insurance is in force on any real estate, and make sure nothing is being removed from a home or safe deposit box by well-meaning relatives before you have inventoried it.

Days 15-45: get organized administratively

With the basics handled, the middle weeks are about setting up the trust's own financial infrastructure and beginning the inventory.

• Obtain a new Employer Identification Number (EIN) for the trust from the IRS if the trust becomes irrevocable at death, since it can no longer use the settlor's Social Security number.
• Open a trust checking/investment account titled in the name of the trust and the trustee, and begin moving trust assets into it. Never leave trust funds mixed with your own accounts, and never continue using the deceased settlor's personal accounts.
• Take control of and inventory every asset — real estate, brokerage and bank accounts, business interests, personal property of value, and any life insurance payable to the trust. Get date-of-death valuations on everything; these values are needed both for the trust's own accounting and for the Pennsylvania inheritance tax return.
• Coordinate with the estate's executor, if there is a separate probate estate. Many trusts are funded in part by assets that pass through the will (a "pour-over" arrangement), and the inheritance tax return (REV-1500) often needs figures from both the trust and the probate estate to be filed accurately and on time — nine months after death, with a 5% discount available for payment within three months.
• Confirm the trust's tax filing obligations, including whether a fiduciary income tax return will be needed for the trust going forward.

Days 46-90: administer, communicate, and document

By the two-month mark, most trustees are ready to begin acting on the trust's actual terms.

• Pay legitimate expenses and debts the trust is responsible for, keeping receipts and records for every transaction.
• Begin any distributions the trust directs, but only after confirming that doing so will not create a cash shortfall for taxes or expenses still to come. A common early mistake is distributing too generously, too soon, and then having to ask a beneficiary to return funds needed for the inheritance tax bill.
• Uphold the duty of loyalty and impartiality. Under 20 Pa.C.S. §§ 7772-7773, a trustee must administer the trust solely in the beneficiaries' interest and treat multiple beneficiaries impartially in light of the trust's purposes — even a trustee who is also a beneficiary cannot favor their own interest over others'.
• Keep meticulous records of every receipt, disbursement, and decision. Pennsylvania beneficiaries are entitled to request an accounting, and good contemporaneous records are the best protection against a later dispute or surcharge claim.

Common mistakes new trustees make

A few mistakes account for the overwhelming majority of trustee disputes and litigation our office sees:

• Commingling trust funds with the trustee's own money, even temporarily "to make things easier."
• Distributing assets too early, before taxes, debts, and administration expenses are known with certainty.
• Ignoring the Pennsylvania inheritance tax entirely, assuming a trust avoids it — it generally does not; most trust assets remain subject to the same inheritance tax rates (0% for a spouse, 4.5% for children, 12% for siblings, 15% for others) that apply to probate assets.
• Making informal side deals with individual beneficiaries outside the trust's terms, which can create liability even when everyone involved agreed at the time.
• Failing to communicate, which breeds suspicion even when a trustee is doing everything correctly. Regular, written updates go a long way toward a smooth administration.

When to bring in professional help

Trust administration carries personal liability for the trustee, and a well-meaning family member is not expected to already know all of this. Our trust administration practice regularly guides successor trustees through exactly this ninety-day process and beyond, and works alongside trustees of our own drafted revocable living trusts as well as trusts drafted elsewhere.

Talk with a Pennsylvania estate planning attorney

If you have just been named a successor trustee and are not sure where to start, our office can walk you through the entire first ninety days and beyond. Schedule a free consultation to get organized before a small oversight becomes a real problem.

Working with beneficiaries who disagree

Even a well-run trust administration can run into beneficiaries who disagree about valuations, timing, or how a trustee is exercising discretion. A trustee who documents decisions in writing, explains the reasoning behind a valuation or a delayed distribution, and responds promptly to reasonable requests for information is far less likely to face a formal challenge later. If a genuine dispute arises that cannot be resolved informally, Pennsylvania law allows a trustee or beneficiary to petition the Orphans' Court for guidance — a far better outcome than a trustee guessing and later facing a surcharge claim for a decision that turned out to be wrong.