FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM MARCH 9, 2017 • THE QUEENS COURIER 19 business The Elder Law Minute TM New York Trustee’s Duty to Inform BY RONALD A. FATOULLAH, ESQ. AND YAN LIAN KUANG-MAOGA, ESQ. Trusts are widely used for a multitude of reasons. In creating a trust, a legal relationship is established between the named trustee and the benefi ciaries of the trust. While a trustee is endowed with many powers over the trust, this trusteeship also comes along with many duties. Th e duty to inform is one that we will explore in this article. New York State law does not currently require a trustee to disclose any information relating to the trust unless requested to do so by a benefi ciary. In these situations, the trustee may simply provide the information requested. It is important for any trustee to keep open communication with benefi ciaries, and even good practice to disclose information about the administration of the trust. Th is is important because a trustee has a duty to act in good faith; therefore, open disclosure of information is generally indicative of a trustee acting accordingly. ELDER LAW For this reason, a trustee can also elect to provide information to a trust’s benefi ciaries of his own accord. Th e content and timing of such disclosures initiated by the trustee depend on the type of trust and the needs of the benefi ciaries. A trustee should closely review and familiarize himself with the terms of the trust and the intent of the creator of the trust. Th e trustee should identify the benefi ciaries of the trust and determine their interest, which could be an interest in current income generated by the trust’s assets, an interest in the principal, or an interest in the remainder. Generally, at a minimum, it is recommended that a trustee provide a copy of the trust and the contact information of the trustee to all the current benefi ciaries. Once a trust terminates, remainder benefi ciaries should be informed of the termination of the trust, and be given another copy of the trust, along with the contact information of the trustee. Th e following are additional items of information a trustee may elect to disclose depending on the circumstances: • Th e expected timeframe for any distributions from the trust • Th e method to request payment from the trust when the trust gives a benefi ciary the right to request payments. For example, in a special needs trust, the benefi ciary must send his or her bills to a trustee to be paid directly to vendors. • Restrictions on the trustee relating to distributions. For example, a trust may provide that trust funds can be used for all expenses except to purchase cigarettes. • Annual informal account • Compensation of the trustee and the method of calculation Without specifi c guidance from the law, a trustee should review with her attorney what information, if any, she should disclose. It is critical for a trustee to recognize that she has a duty to be loyal to the benefi ciaries of the trust. While the law does not require the trustee to disclose information unless she is asked, it is best practice for the trustee to maintain a good relationship with benefi ciaries. A trustee can avoid any unnecessary legal proceedings against her and the resulting liability by having open communication with the benefi ciaries. A trustee should avoid the appearance of hiding information from the benefi - ciaries. Ronald A. Fatoullah, Esq. is the principal of Ronald Fatoullah & Associates, a law fi rm that concentrates in elder law, estate planning, Medicaid planning, guardianships, estate administration, trusts, wills, and real estate. Yan Lian Kuang-Maoga is an elder law attorney with the fi rm. Th e law fi rm can be reached at 718-261-1700, 516-466- 4422, or toll free at 1-877-ELDER-LAW or 1-877-ESTATES. Mr. Fatoullah is also a partner with Advice Period, a wealth management fi rm, and he can be reached at 424-256-7273. RONALD FATOULLAH ESQ, CELA* editorial Five Tips to Manage Your Time Dear Mindy – I oft en feel overwhelmed at work and don’t know how to get everything done in the day. Do you have any tips to help me manage my time? Overwhelmed in Queens Dear Overwhelmed - When we complain about not having enough time in our day, we are really talking about the inability to prioritize what’s MOST important and eliminate or reduce what isn’t. When you learn how to eff ectively manage your time, you can stop feeling overwhelmed and focus on being more creative and productive. Try these fi ve ideas to become more productive and put more joy in your day! 1. Know your personal TIME WASTERS - Write down how much time you spend on each task for one week. Th en analyze the tasks that take the most time. When you see how much time you’re spending on a particular task you may choose to spend that time diff erently or fi nd more eff ective ways to accomplish the same thing. Take some time to discover technology tools that may help you organize your tasks. 2. Find one new thing to DELEGATE - Do you really need to do everything on your plate? Or could someone else, perhaps a team member or a friend develop and learn from doing one of your tasks? Give someone else the opportunity to learn something new and reap multiple benefi ts! 3. SET A TIMER when using Social Media - It’s easy to get drawn into the wide variety of information on the internet. Th ere are pictures to view, interesting links to open and updates from friends and colleagues. Before we know it an hour or more has passed and we end up scrambling to fi nish what we started to do. Sometimes the time spent on the internet is positive because it may energize us or give us the opportunity to connect with others. Other times it is just another Time Waster! Th e trick is to do it CONSCIOUSLY. Whether it’s for work or pleasure, set a time limit and then enjoy guilt-free internet time. 4. CHALLENGE the interruptions - We tend to assume interruptions are important and therefore drop what we’re doing to help someone else. While we can’t stop people from interrupting us, we can change how we respond. So, PAUSE before saying YES and ask yourself, “Is this interruption more important than what I’m currently doing?” OR can it wait until another time? 5. TOP Th ree List - Make a list every night of the top three things you want to accomplish the next day. Th e items you prioritize could be anything from sending birthday wishes to fi nishing a project or writing a blog post. Th en make a commitment to start each day by completing the top three items on your list before anything else. Mindy Stern, SPHR, SHRM-SCP, ACC is a trusted HR advisor, career and leadership coach, author, speaker and president of AIM Resource Group Inc. Visit the website at www.aimresourcegroup. com or call 718-217-1074 if you would like to learn more about leadership or provide leadership training to your staff . EMPLOYMENT MATTERS MINDY STERN SPHR, SHRM-SCP,
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