I am the sole beneficiary of a trust that was created about 21 years ago; and, since now the current successor trustee has become incompetent (due to old age) to continue his fiduciary duties, I have proposed myself to administer this trust. In the process of pursuing this task, I have been given multiple pieces of information about the process & the cost that has placed me in a puzzle? Will anyone please enlighten me about what needs to be done? Is it a simple process to notify each operator & county where the wells are located… or? Can I notify each operator myself after the current successor trustee has resigned, or should I have the current trustee notify each operator prior to his resignation? Any ideas how much the approximate cost of each notification filing and how much will it cost to change the trustee of record in the state of Texas? Thank you for any assistance, it will be much appreciated.
It's a fairly simple process. Have an attorney draw up an affidavit stating that you are the successor trustee. I would imagine all of this was already spelled out in the original trust agreement. Once you have this, you will file the document in each county where the trust owns an interest, and then provide a filed copy to each operator of the producing wells. Filling fees vary by county, but depending on how many pages the affidavit is, it shouldn't be more than $20.
It' a fairly simple process. Either you or an attorney can draw up an Amendment to the Trust stating the changes... But have it notarized, and then file a copy in each county the Trust owns an interest, then send a certified copy to each Operator and anyone who has a working interest in your property.
Thank you,
Pat
The first thing to do is look at the trust agreement to see if it has a mechanism for appointing successor trustees.
Yep, I agree. Read the trust agreement to see if it contains verbiage for "successor trustees" and "amending." Because my Mother's Trust contained these provisions, we (Mother, brother and I) were able to amend her Revocable Trust to an Irrevocable Trust, thus resulting in a completed gift to me and my brother.
My brother and I are, both, Trustee and Beneficiary.
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You might find the following the informative if the Trust is Irrevocable
AMENDING AN IRREVOCABLE TRUST
Trust law varies based on the state where the trust is located. The Uniform Trust Code (UTC) is a proposed law meant to be enacted across the country to promote legal consistency regarding trusts. The UTC has been enacted in 23 states and covers most trust issues, including how to amend an irrevocable trust agreement. Under the UTC, an irrevocable trust agreement can be amended when the beneficiaries and creator agree to an amendment or when there is a significant change in circumstances surrounding the trust. When attempting to amend an irrevocable trust agreement, consider consulting with a licensed attorney.
Good luck,
Pat
Before I go into town (I'm at the farm), I'll add one more thing to this discussion ...
The following provision is in my Mother's trust document:
Resignation of Trustee. Any Trustee may resign by giving notice to the Settlor, while the Settlor is living, and thereafter to the beneficiaries or Ward of such Trust. If the Trusteeship of any Trust created by this Trust Agreement becomes vacant for any reason during the Settlor's lifetime, and no successor Trustee has been appointed pursuant to the terms of any other Section of this Article, the power to appoint a successor shall be exercisable by the Settlor for a period of 60 days or, if the Settlor for any reason fails to appoint a successor within such period, by the Settlor's children (acting jointly, or by the survivor acting alone) for an additional 30 days. After the death of the Settlor, if no successor Trustee has been appointed pursuant to the terms of any other Section of this Article, the power to appoint a successor Trustee shall be exercisable by the Settlor's children (acting jointly, or by the survivor acting alone) for a period of 90 days. If no successor Trustee has been appointed within 90 days of such vacancy or such notice of resignation, then upon written request of any interested party, any judge of Harris County, Texas, acting as an individual and not in any judicial capacity, shall have the power to appoint a successor Trustee.
Thanks,
Pat
Pete Wrench said:
I remember speaking to a very good Probate and Trusts attorney about this subject two years ago, in anticipation of setting up a trust myself, and as I recall he said that if the "Trust docs," meaning the documents originally establishing the Trust, did not allow for an appointment of Substitute Trustee then the creator of the Trust better list at least one Substitute Trustee by name in the Trust docs, preferably more than one. In other words, he recommended listing at least three persons by name, one to be the original Trustee and two to be the Substitute Trustees. He also said that if the Trust docs did not allow for appointment of Substitute Trustees and all the named persons became ineligible one would have to go to a Court to get a new Trustee. So according to him, a Court could intervene if all the Trustees died, for example, and nobody was left in charge of the Trust. A bit off topic, admittedly, but just thought I would throw that into the discussion.