Trust administration generally refers to the management of assets based on a set of rules for the benefit of people who are called “beneficiaries”. The person charged with managing the trust assets for the beneficiaries is called a “trustee.” As one can imagine beneficiaries and trustees have some competing interests: beneficiaries have the right to receive the assets at some point and trustees have the right to control those assets. To reconcile these competing interests trustees are held accountable to the beneficiaries under the highest standard of care and loyalty under the law. That means there is little margin for error for trustees. Lawrence Kamin attorneys have the backgrounds, experience and legal skills to advise trustees so they fulfill their lofty duties to the beneficiaries of the trust.
In addition to the requirement that trustees use the utmost care while managing the trust assets, they have many other responsibilities. For example, they must prudently invest the assets; protect the assets from loss to the extent possible; and provide reports to the beneficiaries on the value of the assets and the income and expenses related to the assets. Trustees also need to stay abreast of frequently changing tax laws to satisfy their duty to properly file the various tax returns and forms required.
Given the numerous tax, financial and legal rules that must be understood to effectively administer a trust, many individuals and corporate fiduciaries have entrusted Lawrence Kamin to advise them in their role as trustees. Lawrence Kamin has been able to successfully counsel many trustees on their duties and potential liabilities because it has attorneys skilled in several legal areas in which issues arise for trustees, such as tax, business law, bankruptcy and financial regulation.
