What does a successor trustee do?

Maybe you've just learned you're the successor trustee for a parent or an aunt. Or you're writing your own trust and wondering what you'd be asking of someone. Either way, the question is the same: what does a trustee do, once it's their turn?

A trustee holds and manages the property in a trust and follows its terms. The successor is the person, or trust company, who takes over after you.

This page walks through the work in order, using Washington's statutes as the worked example. It's part of our guide to the four roles in every estate plan.

When does a successor trustee take over?

Usually at one of two moments: when you can no longer manage your affairs, or after you die. The trust document sets the trigger.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's guide tells new trustees to check this first. The document may say how incapacity is decided, and if it's unclear, they should get legal advice (CFPB). The same guide notes that a successor has no authority while the current trustee is still willing and able to act.

In Washington, a successor named in the trust who is willing to serve is entitled to act, except for good cause or disqualification (RCW 11.98.039). There's no court hearing to start. That's one reason trusts are often quicker than probate.

If the person is living but can't manage

This quieter version of the job can last months or years. The successor keeps life running from the trust: the mortgage, the property tax, the electric bill, the dog walker.

While the person who made a revocable trust is living, the trustee's duties are owed only to them (RCW 11.103.040). Other beneficiaries have no right to information about the trust during that time (RCW 11.98.072). The successor works for the person, not for the heirs.

Anything outside the trust needs someone else. A car or a bank account in the person's own name is handled by their agent under a financial power of attorney. The two should keep in touch.

After a death: the successor trustee's job, step by step

1. Read the trust and decide whether to serve

Being named isn't the same as agreeing. In Washington, a person named as trustee can decline in writing before accepting (RCW 11.98.017). Taking control of trust property or acting as trustee counts as accepting.

The same statute lets a named trustee act to protect trust property without accepting, if they send a written declination within a reasonable time. So locking up the house is fine while deciding.

2. Give notice

When the office changes hands, the successor's agreement to serve must be announced. Notice goes to each beneficiary currently eligible for distributions (RCW 11.98.039).

Once the trust has become irrevocable, Washington adds a second notice.

Within sixty days of accepting, the trustee notifies the qualified beneficiaries. The notice says the trust exists, who made it, how to reach the trustee and that they may ask for information (RCW 11.98.072). The trust can waive or modify that notice.

3. Show your authority

In Washington, a trustee can hand over a certification of trust instead of the whole document. It confirms the trust exists, who the trustee is and what powers they have, without revealing who inherits (RCW 11.98.075).

4. Take care of the tax setup

A revocable trust usually becomes irrevocable at death. The IRS says a revocable trust that changes to an irrevocable trust needs a new employer identification number (IRS). A change of trustee by itself doesn't.

The IRS also has Form 56, which a fiduciary may use to tell the IRS a fiduciary relationship has begun or ended (IRS).

5. Gather, protect and separate

Find everything titled in the trust: the house, the brokerage account, the trust checking account. Keep it maintained and secure.

The CFPB guide is firm on one point. Never mix trust money with your own, and keep detailed records of everything the trust receives and spends (CFPB).

6. Invest sensibly while the work goes on

Settling a trust can take a while, and the money has to be looked after in the meantime. Washington requires a trustee to invest and manage trust property as a prudent investor would, with reasonable care, skill and caution (RCW 11.100.020).

7. Pay final bills and settle debts

In Washington, a trustee receiving substantially all of the person's assets can act as a "notice agent." If no personal representative has been appointed, they can give creditors formal notice without opening probate (RCW 11.42.010). Notice is published once a week for three weeks and mailed to the state's office of financial recovery (RCW 11.42.020).

After that, most creditors have four months from first publication to come forward. A creditor the trustee could reasonably have found, but didn't notify, has up to twenty-four months from the death (RCW 11.42.050).

8. File the tax returns

Several returns may be due, and a trustee can hire help. Washington lets a trustee engage lawyers, accountants and investment advisors (RCW 11.98.070).

• The final personal return. The IRS says to prepare it the same way as if the person were alive, reporting income up to the date of death (IRS).
• The trust's income return. The fiduciary of a trust files Form 1041 to report the trust's income and any tax it owes (IRS).
• Washington estate tax. For deaths on or after July 1, 2026, the filing threshold is $3,000,000, and the return is due nine months after death (Washington Department of Revenue).

9. Distribute and keep everyone informed

When bills and taxes are paid, the trustee hands out what's left exactly as the trust says. Throughout, a Washington trustee must keep qualified beneficiaries reasonably informed and answer reasonable requests promptly (RCW 11.98.072).

Some trusts end here. Others continue for years, perhaps holding money for a grandchild, and the trustee keeps managing and reporting.

A checklist for the first month

• Find the trust document, every amendment and the pour-over will.
• Decide whether you'll serve, and say so in writing if you won't.
• Secure the house, the car keys, the mail and any pets.
• Send notice to the beneficiaries.
• Get a certification of trust ready for banks.
• Apply for a new tax ID for the trust if it's now irrevocable.
• Open a trust account and keep every receipt.
• Call an estate lawyer or accountant if anything is unclear.

The executor checklist covers the overlapping tasks if you're also the executor.

What a successor trustee doesn't have to do

Washington protects a successor from the person before them. Absent actual knowledge of a breach, a successor isn't liable for a predecessor's mistakes. They can rely on the accounting they were given and receipt only for assets actually delivered (RCW 11.98.039).

A successor also doesn't have to work for free. Washington allows reasonable compensation, considering the time, effort, skill and responsibility involved (RCW 11.98.070). The trust document can say more.

Choosing your own successor

Here is a typical case, a composite. Carol, 68, named her brother as successor trustee. He's 72 and lives in Tucson.

After reading a list like this one, she named a trust company behind him. Now the work never stalls if he can't take it on.

Ask whether the person you have in mind could do these steps from where they live, perhaps years from now. Our comparison of a corporate trustee and an individual trustee weighs the options.

Every one of these people is a fiduciary, legally required to act in your interest and follow what you wrote. If the people closest to you live far away, see planning when your children live far away.

Kinly members can name Trella Trust Company, a Washington State chartered trust company, as successor trustee, first or behind someone they choose. If it steps in and does the work, that work is billed by the hour, with the rates shown before anything starts.

Common questions

Does a successor trustee have to go to court?

Usually not to start. In Washington, a successor named in the trust who is willing to serve is entitled to act, and notice goes to the beneficiaries. A court gets involved only if someone petitions, for example over a dispute or a vacancy with no named successor.

How long does a successor trustee have to settle a trust?

There's no single deadline. In Washington, notice to beneficiaries is due within sixty days of accepting. Creditors usually have four months after published notice, and an estate tax return, if needed, is due at nine months. Selling a house or a trust that continues for years can take longer.

Can a successor trustee also be a beneficiary?

Yes, and family trustees often are. The duty of loyalty still applies: the trustee must manage the trust for all the beneficiaries, not just themselves. Washington presumes a conflict in deals between the trust and the trustee's close relatives.

Can a successor trustee refuse the job?

Yes. In Washington, a named trustee who hasn't accepted can decline by delivering a written declination. If no willing successor is named, the people with an interest in the trust can agree on one, or ask a court.

Sources

• RCW 11.42.010: Notice agent qualifications (Washington State Legislature)
• RCW 11.42.020: Nonprobate notice to creditors (Washington State Legislature)
• RCW 11.42.050: Time limits for creditors after nonprobate notice (Washington State Legislature)
• RCW 11.98.017: Accepting and declining a trusteeship (Washington State Legislature)
• RCW 11.98.039: Change of trustee, successor trustee (Washington State Legislature)
• RCW 11.98.070: Powers of trustee, including compensation and hiring advisors (Washington State Legislature)
• RCW 11.98.072: Trustee notification requirements (Washington State Legislature)
• RCW 11.98.075: Certification of trust (Washington State Legislature)
• RCW 11.98.078: Trustee duty of loyalty (Washington State Legislature)
• RCW 11.100.020: Prudent investor rule (Washington State Legislature)
• RCW 11.103.040: Trustor's powers under a revocable trust (Washington State Legislature)
• Help for trustees under a revocable living trust (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau)
• Do you need a new EIN? (IRS)
• About Form 56, Notice Concerning Fiduciary Relationship (IRS)
• About Form 1041, U.S. Income Tax Return for Estates and Trusts (IRS)
• File the final income tax returns of a deceased person (IRS)
• Estate tax (Washington State Department of Revenue)