PSA: How Long to Finish Trust/Estate Admin

[Midpack]

Having just finished, I was surprised how long it all took. My sister had almost all her assets in her trust (thank goodness). While there are definite advantages to a trust, privacy and avoiding probate for example, that does not mean it's all quick and easy. Vanguard was great. John Hancock and Newrez mortgage were incompetent. I am absolutely convinced John Hancock's SOP includes stalling the customer with endless requests, one at a time and each with a 10-15 business day wait, hoping the beneficiary will give up.

The biggest issue IME - there are many financial organizations that slot everything into wills & probate, and getting to handle trust assets takes finding the right people in the organization - that proved to be very difficult with some firms. The script reading robots you get to talk to are trained to handle wills/probate, and most won't allow you to talk to anyone above the front line robots. It was a PITA.

There's no standard, so don't take these times as predictive. Just an example of the time it's taken me.

How Long?	Task
1 day	USPS mail forwarding
1-30 days	cancelling credit cards - most LT 2 days, Chase Visa & Target CC were MUCH longer
13 days	estate sale once house was sold
2 weeks	cancelling non essential online accounts
2 wks + 3 days	sale of home once listed
2 wks + 4 days	obtaining death certificate
2 wks + 5 days	utilities in my name
3 wks + 4 days	access to Vanguard brokerage & rIRA (and me waiting for the death cert held them up)
4 weeks	mortgage authority
1 month + 5 days	Homeowners insurance in my name
1 month + 8 days	Prop tax in my name
1 month + 11 days	Assisted living final payment
1 month + 16 days	Insurance fund disbursement from mortgage company
2 mos + 15 days	Access to sisters checking acct (she forgot to include in trust, forced into probate w $2500 in attorney fees...)
2 mos + 19 days	Home repairs (floor replacement etc.)
3 mos + 7 days	Deleted Google & Microsoft accts
4 mos + 3 days	Sale of home from date of death
4 mos + 20 days	Cancelling remaining essential online accounts (Apple ID, email, her utilities, etc.)
4 mos + 20 days	Apple device trade ins iPad, iPhone, MacBook
4 mos + 25 days	John Hancock LTC settlement (and they paid 1/3rd what we were entitled to)
never	Morgan Stanley 401k rollover residual, would have cost more to recover than it's $ value, left to escheat

 

[harllee]

Midpack, thanks for this. My 95 year old mother is on Hospice and I am her POA and Executor and will face the estate administration soon. Being her POA has been 5 years of stress and many many hours of work. Her assets, taxes etc were a mess. I think I have finally found everything and gotten her taxes and assets straightened out. I have 2 sisters and the 3 of us are beneficiaries of her estate. The sisters have been absolutely no help. I have not charged for my time for being POA but I am considering charging for my time for being Executor. Midpack, have you charged the estate for your time?

 

[Gremlin]

Having just finished, I was surprised how long it all took. My sister had almost all her assets in her trust (thank goodness). While there are definite advantages to a trust, privacy and avoiding probate for example, that does not mean it's all quick and easy. Vanguard was great. John Hancock and Newrez mortgage were incompetent. I am absolutely convinced John Hancock's SOP includes stalling the customer with endless requests, one at a time and each with a 10-15 business day wait, hoping the beneficiary will give up.

The biggest issue IME - there are many financial organizations that slot everything into wills & probate, and getting to handle trust assets takes finding the right people in the organization - that proved to be very difficult with some firms. The script reading robots you get to talk to are trained to handle wills/probate, and most won't allow you to talk to anyone above the front line robots. It was a PITA.

There's no standard, so don't take these times as predictive. Just an example of the time it's taken me.

How Long?	Task
1 day	USPS mail forwarding
1-30 days	cancelling credit cards - most LT 2 days, Chase Visa & Target CC were MUCH longer
13 days	estate sale once house was sold
2 weeks	cancelling non essential online accounts
2 wks + 3 days	sale of home once listed
2 wks + 4 days	obtaining death certificate
2 wks + 5 days	utilities in my name
3 wks + 4 days	access to Vanguard brokerage & rIRA (and me waiting for the death cert held them up)
4 weeks	mortgage authority
1 month + 5 days	Homeowners insurance in my name
1 month + 8 days	Prop tax in my name
1 month + 11 days	Assisted living final payment
1 month + 16 days	Insurance fund disbursement from mortgage company
2 mos + 15 days	Access to sisters checking acct (she forgot to include in trust, forced into probate w $2500 in attorney fees...)
2 mos + 19 days	Home repairs (floor replacement etc.)
3 mos + 7 days	Deleted Google & Microsoft accts
4 mos + 3 days	Sale of home from date of death
4 mos + 20 days	Cancelling remaining essential online accounts (Apple ID, email, her utilities, etc.)
4 mos + 20 days	Apple device trade ins iPad, iPhone, MacBook
4 mos + 25 days	John Hancock LTC settlement (and they paid 1/3rd what we were entitled to)
never	Morgan Stanley 401k rollover residual, would have cost more to recover than it's $ value, left to escheat

Thanks for your post, Midpack. My 88 yo mother had a will, revocable trust, and POA done about 1 1/2years ago. Despite doing really well health wise, the last several months she has mentally declined to the point I took over paying her bills. I just realized the two bank accounts that has all her cash and CDs have not been renamed to the revocable trust. Nor does she have a POD on these accounts so we would have to go through probate for those accounts. Which means we would have no access to her money to pay for bills while waiting for that to happen. I’m going to have figure out how to get this done ASAP.

 

[pb4uski]

I've done this 3 times... once for my grandmother, then great aunt and finally for my parents. For the first two I had served as guardian in their last years.

Great aunt was the hardest as she had numerous scattered holdings, mostly DRIPs and when I was custodian I was redeeming them to raise fund for her nursing home stay. Ironically, I sent in the redemption for some US savings bonds a couple days before she passed, otherwise it would have been more hassle. I'll admit that I took some shortcuts... posing as her in some instances since it was too much of a hassle to do otherwise.

My parents was the easiest. In 1991 they set up A/B revocable living trusts and put all of their assets in the trusts, including 50% of 3 real estate properties. I took over the finances when DF died and administered his trust assets, DM's trust assets and a commercial rental for 18 years until DM passed. During that time I became a co-trustee of both trusts and we sold their Florida home that was owned 50/50 by both trusts, so at DM's passing all we had were financial accounts, the 50/50 commercial rental and the 50/5 family summer home. The financial accounts were the easiest and were distributed to the beneficiaries (their 5 kids) within 30 days. For the commercial rental, we sold to a long term tenant but the hitch was that they wanted to defer closing until their new budget year (January 2025) and we agree to do that. For the summer home we formed an LLC that now owns it, we each own 20 units (100 in total) and we each get rotating 2-week periods to use it. Since I have a place 1/4 mile up the road, I let our kids use my two weeks.

 

[Midpack]

Midpack, thanks for this. My 95 year old mother is on Hospice and I am her POA and Executor and will face the estate administration soon. Being her POA has been 5 years of stress and many many hours of work. Her assets, taxes etc were a mess. I think I have finally found everything and gotten her taxes and assets straightened out. I have 2 sisters and the 3 of us are beneficiaries of her estate. The sisters have been absolutely no help. I have not charged for my time for being POA but I am considering charging for my time for being Executor. Midpack, have you charged the estate for your time?

Somewhat of a gray area when it’s not spelled out in the Trust itself, it wasn’t in my sisters Trust. It allowed me to hire professionals as needed but no mention of paying myself. I know that it’s not uncommon for family member trustee(s) to charge $25-$100/hr for their work, that would be considerable with the hours it took me. But I’m sole beneficiary, so there’s no point in my case…

 

[pacergal]

Thank you for the information.
Dh and I are setting up appts to review/update our wills/trust/estate plans

 

[Midpack]

I just realized the two bank accounts that has all her cash and CDs have not been renamed to the revocable trust. Nor does she have a POD on these accounts so we would have to go through probate for those accounts. Which means we would have no access to her money to pay for bills while waiting for that to happen. I’m going to have figure out how to get this done ASAP.

+1. Fortunately my sister got almost all her assets retitled to her Trust. She did forget to add her checking account, no POD either so it too me 2 months + 2 days and $2500 in attorney fees and a Zoom with a probate judge to recover $8600 from her checking account. My sister left me her entire estate, but she never divulged any amounts while she was alive, and I was with her to the very end. She could’ve made things easier for me, but I had no way to know/advise her until she was gone.

The experts say don’t commingle your personal funds with trust assets while administering the trust. That sounds good but was useless in my case as I couldn’t even see her balances for a few weeks until I had a death certificate and even then it took a while to get access to the funds. So I paid most of my sisters debts from our personal funds, no real choice unless I wanted to stiff her creditors for a month or two. Again I was sole beneficiary so not important anyway, I’m sure it could matter with multiple beneficiaries, especially if there are any trust issues.

 

[Midpack]

One extra piece of advice, fortunately I anticipated it. I had no idea the size of her estate/accounts at all. So just hours after my sister passed away, I got a hold of all her username/passwords. I immediately went into her Vanguard accounts, her checking accounts, her mortgage, her insurance, her utilities, her HOA, etc. and printed off statements. Where there weren’t actual statements, I did screen grabs. In the case of Vanguard, in addition to a current statement, I printed off her cost basis for each holding, so I’d know what step up basis would be.

Turned out to be a smart move, as almost all of them instantly closed all access to me as soon as I reported her passing. They wouldn’t even speak to me, I just got a lot of “sorry we can’t talk to you or tell you anything at all” until you’re authorized as successor trustee. That took 2-4 weeks where I wouldn't have known anything if I hadn’t printed off everything before reporting her passing.

 

[Sojourner]

The experts say don’t commingle your personal funds with trust assets while administering the trust. That sounds good but was useless in my case as I couldn’t even see her balances for a few weeks until I had a death certificate and even then it took a while to get access to the funds. So I paid most of my sisters debts from our personal funds, no real choice unless I wanted to stiff her creditors for a month or two. Again I was sole beneficiary so not important anyway, I’m sure it could matter with multiple beneficiaries, especially if there are any trust issues.

IMHO, this is probably the most frustrating aspect of being an executor or successor trustee. I am currently the nominated (but not yet appointed) executor for my deceased friend's estate, and my hands are utterly tied in terms of effectively managing his finances. I have been holding off notifying his banks and brokerage company about his death, because I know the moment I do they will freeze his accounts, and all his auto-pays (mortgage, insurance, utilities, etc.) will stop working. So I just have to wait patiently while the probate court takes its sweet time checking all the boxes, dotting all the i's and crossing all the t's. It's been four weeks since I filed the petition for probate, and I anticipate it will be another four weeks till I have the Letters Testamentary. Surely there must be a better way.

 

[ncbill]

As I've previously posted with the last two relatives I buried I was also their primary caregiver.

So I setup RLTs for them for my convenience.

I had no trouble moving financial assets into the RLT with their DPOA & the lawyer handled any real estate.

But since they had already received terminal diagnoses I was on the RLT as co-trustee, not successor.

Given the OP's trials that's something to consider if your loved one finds themselves in the same situation.

 

[Koolau]

Thanks, Midpack. I'm edging toward estate planning for DW and me. This info is helpful in my planning. I do not look forward to dealing with this stuff, but it has to be faced. All the best to you as you finish up your sister's estate.

 

[lawman]

Dealing with stuff like this makes me crazier..My plan is to die first.

 

[pb4uski]

Midpack, thanks for this. My 95 year old mother is on Hospice and I am her POA and Executor and will face the estate administration soon. Being her POA has been 5 years of stress and many many hours of work. Her assets, taxes etc were a mess. I think I have finally found everything and gotten her taxes and assets straightened out. I have 2 sisters and the 3 of us are beneficiaries of her estate. The sisters have been absolutely no help. I have not charged for my time for being POA but I am considering charging for my time for being Executor. Midpack, have you charged the estate for your time?

I don't think it is typical to charge for being a POA but is not uncommon for serving as trustee or executor. Not sure why as they are all work to some extent.

Not Midpack here, but I haven't charged anything. It has been more of a labor of love and I'm thankful that I'm retired and have the time. In the first two cases I wasn't a beneficiary of the estate and didn't charge anything but in each case the beneficiaries insisted that I charge the estate something. It wasn't much given the time involved, but I was thankful that the beneficiaries appreciatd my effotrs enough to insist that I get something.

 

[pb4uski]

As I've previously posted with the last two relatives I buried I was also their primary caregiver.

So I setup RLTs for them for my convenience.

I had no trouble moving financial assets into the RLT with their DPOA & the lawyer handled any real estate.

But since they had already received terminal diagnoses I was on the RLT as co-trustee, not successor.

Given the OP's trials that's something to consider if your loved one finds themselves in the same situation.

+1 Being named co-trustee from the beginning makes things much easier when the time comes. I'm co-trustee with my uncle of my uncle and aunt's RLT. The way I describe it is that uncle is the pilot but I am the co-pilot and am ready to step in temporarily or permanently if or as needed.

 

[harllee]

I don't think it is typical to charge for being a POA but is not uncommon for serving as trustee or executor. Not sure why as they are all work to some extent.

Not Midpack here, but I haven't charged anything. It has been more of a labor of love and I'm thankful that I'm retired and have the time. In the first two cases I wasn't a beneficiary of the estate and didn't charge anything but in each case the beneficiaries insisted that I charge the estate something. It wasn't much given the time involved, but I was thankful that the beneficiaries appreciatd my effotrs enough to insist that I get something.

I have not charged for all my untold hours as POA for 5 years (and counting) because I do not want to charge my dear mother -- if she lives several more years she will need every penny. But my sisters have been a pain (they have been no help and have caused me to have to spend a lot of extra unnecessary time). I certainly would have been justified to charge, my husband thinks I should charge. The statute in my state would have allowed me to get a hefty fee for serving as POA and I definitely deserve it. When I take over as Executor I plan to take the maximum fee.

 

[Koolau]

Dealing with stuff like this makes me crazier..My plan is to die first.

I've thought a lot about that. But I keep coming back to the realization of just how much I love my DW. I do not want to leave her in a mess when I pass.

I console myself that most of our assets will pass via designated beneficiary, but other things could be complicated and I don't want that for her when (just assuming here) she will already be devastated by my loss.

 

[Midpack]

Dealing with stuff like this makes me crazier..My plan is to die first.

You don’t do a trust or a will for yourself, you do it for your family, charities and/or friends - people you care about, and care about you. That’s why I’ve put so much effort into organizing and documenting our affairs, to make it as easy as possible for loved ones who we leave behind. You don’t want to risk family disputes by leaving things open ended. And it still won’t be easy, my point with this thread.

My sister missed a few things but for the most part she did things right with her trust and semi organized documentation she left behind, and it’s still taken me more than 4 months and a lot of aggravation with some institutions to settle her estate. It would be an absolute nightmare, and costly, to handle a poorly organized estate…

 

[DrRoy]

So about 5 months? Do you feel an ending or some relief? On what basis did JH keep $ that should have been yours? DW is nearly a year into DFIL's estate. She had many experiences like you did, certainly some differences. She has had a lawyer for the whole time and has not paid $2500 total yet. The two biggest snags have been: 1 - he intended for his 401K to be distributed as part of his residual estate, but he never had paperwork done for his 2nd wife (my DW's stepmother) to sign away her rights so she just got it all directly. 2 - he called for a trust to hold money that would pay home expenses for his surviving wife to stay in their house until death or remarriage. However, the bank that he specified to be the trustee refused, and the SM would not allow DW to be named the trustee. It is now 8 months that we have been working on this. A new bank has been identified that will do it, and letters for the various parties to give their agreement are being prepared. After she dies, the house and trust go to the residual beneficiaries (SM is not one). Also, at present, the SM's name is on the insurance, although she owned no part of the house. This was a move by the insurance co. This still needs fixed also.

 

[Midpack]

On what basis did JH keep $ that should have been yours? DW is nearly a year into DFIL's estate.

Definitely TMI but you asked. In addition to the deliberate stalling tactic I noted earlier - that’s the most blatant and irritating aspect of all IMO:

• Sister was diagnosed with cancer 5/9, metastatic cancer on 5/25/25.
• Declared terminal on 6/5 by oncologist, given estimated 6 months to live and unable to handle enough life functions to qualify for hospice.
• Qualified and started in home hospice 6/5, continued 6 days/week thru 12/10 when she died. About $8500/month all paid by Medicare Advantage (I make no claim for any of that obviously).
• Moved to assisted living 11/10, died 12/10, cost $8600 all out of pocket.
• We submitted the JH application and first invoice on 11/21.
• Her JH policy was to pay $100/day. She spent $286/day.
• Her JH policy had a 90 day qualification period (policyholder out of pocket until then).
• After months of back and forth, on 2/20/26 they told me they’d pay the claim. Said the qualification period started 9/3, so 90 day qualification period ended 11/30, so 11/10 thru 11/30 was out of pocket, and they’d pay a benefit for 12/1 thru 12/10 only. Nothing whatsoever happened on 9/3 with her status or care, and JH hasn’t given any answer why they chose that date, I’ve asked many times.
• Finally paying me $1000 next week, versus the $3000 they owe in my view - she was under hospice care for more than 5 months before assisted living, much longer than 90 days.

If you’re thinking the in home hospice days don’t count towards the qualification period because Medicare paid for it, 1) they’ve already agreed to count 9/3 through 11/10, and 2) I’ve read the policy and it clearly states in home hospice time counts with no mention of who paid. They’re ignoring 6/5 thru 9/2 towards qualification period, with NO explanation. Again nothing changed on 9/3.

All that said, I’m going to accept the $1000 (vs $3000) after more than 4 months of talking to CSR robots who start from square 1 every time I call. So their ‘stall until the beneficiary gives up’ has worked partially.

 

[RunningBum]

My brother is finally finished with our mother's estate, nearly 5 months after death. Dad has preceded her by 18 months. She was on Medicaid in a memory care and assisted living facility and had virtually nothing in terms of both possessions and financial assets. It took that long for DHHS to ask for her the few thousand she had in a bank account. He realized this would probably happen and hadn't distributed that money to us. The only thing we got was insurance money and her last few possessions, of which I think only the family photos were of any real interest. Medicaid had paid over $200K for her care, so giving back pennies on the dollar doesn't bother us.

 

[audreyh1]

Somewhat of a gray area when it’s not spelled out in the Trust itself, it wasn’t in my sisters Trust. It allowed me to hire professionals as needed but no mention of paying myself. I know that it’s not uncommon for family member trustee(s) to charge $25-$100/hr for their work, that would be considerable with the hours it took me. But I’m sole beneficiary, so there’s no point in my case…

Probably the main difference is that you would have taxable income. Best not to pay taxes on what you would otherwise receive tax-free.

 

[harllee]

My mother has Long term care insurance with MetLife and they did the same stalling techniques as Midpack experienced. Initially denied the claim even though mother clearly qualified. I think they thought this 92 year old woman would die and they would not have to pay. I would have to fax them stuff and they would claim they did not receive or say the "lost" it. I finally got them to pay by filing a complaint with the NC Dept of Insurance. Even now 3 years in they constantly "lose" the bills they are sent.

 

[Dtail]

Technically, 2 of my 3 siblings are trustees, but I control my mom's irrevocable trust. The only exception is a variable annuity set up years before I took over, but it has beneficiaries set up, so I will be surprised if I have any issues with any account.
I am also consolidating down the accounts little by little. 4 firms now and will end up with 3 firms.
13 current investments, will eventually be 6 investments by Apr 2028.

 

[DrRoy]

Definitely TMI but you asked. In addition to the deliberate stalling tactic I noted earlier - that’s the most blatant and irritating aspect of all IMO:

• Sister was diagnosed with cancer 5/9, metastatic cancer on 5/25/25.
• Declared terminal on 6/5 by oncologist, given estimated 6 months to live and unable to handle enough life functions to qualify for hospice.
• Qualified and started in home hospice 6/5, continued 6 days/week thru 12/10 when she died. About $8500/month all paid by Medicare Advantage (I make no claim for any of that obviously).
• Moved to assisted living 11/10, died 12/10, cost $8600 all out of pocket.
• We submitted the JH application and first invoice on 11/21.
• Her JH policy was to pay $100/day. She spent $286/day.
• Her JH policy had a 90 day qualification period (policyholder out of pocket until then).
• After months of back and forth, on 2/20/26 they told me they’d pay the claim. Said the qualification period started 9/3, so 90 day qualification period ended 11/30, so 11/10 thru 11/30 was out of pocket, and they’d pay a benefit for 12/1 thru 12/10 only. Nothing whatsoever happened on 9/3 with her status or care, and JH hasn’t given any answer why they chose that date, I’ve asked many times.
• Finally paying me $1000 next week, versus the $3000 they owe in my view - she was under hospice care for more than 5 months before assisted living, much longer than 90 days.

If you’re thinking the in home hospice days don’t count towards the qualification period because Medicare paid for it, 1) they’ve already agreed to count 9/3 through 11/10, and 2) I’ve read the policy and it clearly states in home hospice time counts with no mention of who paid. They’re ignoring 6/5 thru 9/2 towards qualification period, with NO explanation. Again nothing changed on 9/3.

All that said, I’m going to accept the $1000 (vs $3000) after more than 4 months of talking to CSR robots who start from square 1 every time I call. So their ‘stall until the beneficiary gives up’ has worked partially.

My bad for not reading all from the beginning again. I understand. Just looking at the recent posts I presumed (in error) that it was an investment, not insurance. Insurance companies exist to deny coverage. This was another good lesson on things that can/will happen.

 

[SecondCor521]

Midpack, I'm impressed with your detailed timeline tracking in your original post! You're clearly on top of everything and doing a really good job.

We're going through this with my Dad's estate. He passed away 2/24/26. I could see it coming so to make things go as smoothly as possible I tried to pre-plan as much as I could.

Things that went well were that I simplified accounts, automated everything I could, and switched all of the addresses / emails / phone numbers on his accounts to me about two years ago. Also, this year when he was in decline I took his 2026 RMD, made sure all of his bills were paid ASAP, and filed his 2025 taxes ASAP.

I deliberately did not inform his local bank until all of the several appropriate final bills and deposits were made (Social Security, last payment to his memory care, last credit card bill, that sort of stuff).

I took screen grabs the day he passed away of everything I could think of and then some. YTD tax situation, RMD situation, basis info, last monthly statement, balances, activity logs, etc. on all of his accounts - investments, credit card, banking account, 529 account for one of his grandkids.

We've actually got pretty much everything wrapped up. The few exceptions and why:

1. The life insurance policies. They're owned in an ILIT, and my sister is the ILIT trustee. She's been busy with her own life, and planning my Dad's memorial service, and inheriting her portions. We're dealing with two companies, and they are both being either deliberately a bit difficult or less than 100% competent; who can say for sure. Anyway, I've been trying not to bug her too much, but my impression is that all the forms and documents and death certificates and so forth have been supplied, and she's awaiting payment. Once she gets paid by both companies, she'll write checks to us three kids and that part will be done.

2. My Dad's traditional IRA. I've elected to do a partial disclaimer so that my portion is split among me and my three children; this helps reduce my income taxes and my estate tax exposure. My sisters have elected to do similarly, so it's a bit of a process. You have to write a disclaimer letter and fill out a disclaimer indemnification form and get those notarized and submitted and processed before you can accept your portion. It has turned into a couple of week process because I've been the one who has been the guinea pig learning how Vanguard wants things done. It's all been reasonable, it just takes a day or three or five for each little step or back and forth so it adds up. It should go faster for my sisters.

3. A class action suit settlement. About three years ago, Oracle apparently made a mistake with my Dad's privacy, and I submitted his information to get the settlement. There were a couple of subsequent related lawsuits in this case, so the settlement didn't get judicial approval until after my Dad passed away. It's not any big deal - $25 probably - but I am compelled to do everything completely to the best of my ability, so I've been slowly tracking that down and submitting the request to them to send a check to his estate at my address rather than deposit the proceeds into his (now closed) checking account.

4. I need to file his final set of tax returns about a year from now. I have done preliminary versions already and we have the money set aside in the estate checking account to pay what will be owed.

5. My niece has a 529 account that my sister needs to do the paperwork to take over as custodian. This is the same sister above who is busy with life, so I figure we'll get around to it some time. No rush from my point of view.

6. There are a few boxes of my Dad's stuff at my house that my sisters and I need to go through. About half of it is memories - old photo albums, diplomas, military records, etc. About half of it is miscellaneous household items. We go through a box or so when my sisters come to visit and just pick round robin style. It's tucked in a corner of the bonus room over my garage.

At the beginning I wanted to go faster, because I thought there should be some sort of prize or award for getting everything done ASAP. But I knew that my relationship with my sisters was more important, and I realized that they were processing things differently than me, so I adjusted course and released myself from that artificial and self-imposed intensity.

At the end of the day, we got about 90% of the assets distributed and about 90% of the work done in seven weeks, which is good enough in my book.