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Losing a loved one is never easy. Following their death, there are often countless logistical, financial, and legal concerns that distract from grieving. If you were named as the trustee by a family member, a Henderson trust administration lawyer can guide you through this difficult period. They can help with each stage of handling assets, giving you more freedom to focus on other pressing issues.
Our team is committed to aiding the people of Henderson, Las Vegas, and cities across Southern Nevada with their trust administration cases. Founding and lead attorney Ken R. Ashworth has over 30 years of experience and knowledge handling a range of high-value trust matters. His decades of consistent advising have earned him an A+ rating by the Better Business Bureau.
Trusts are a common tool used in estate planning across the country. A 2025 nationwide study found that 13% of respondents had a living trust, and 4% had other types of trusts and estate plans. Trusts involve the granter, the person who creates the trust and puts assets into it, the trustee, who is responsible for carrying out wishes, and the beneficiaries, who are the parties who receive assets from the trust. The document that details the arrangements is the trust instrument.
Trust administration refers to the legal process in which the trustee carries out the grantor’s wishes after death or incapacitation. Unlike probate, they are often private proceedings that do not require court intervention. The following are the main steps in each trust administration matter:
The first thing a trustee must do is notify beneficiaries, heirs, or interested persons. These notices must contain:
Alongside private notices, the trustee must notify all clear creditors and publish a public notice requiring claims to be brought within 90 days of publication.
After notifications are sent, the next step a trustee must take is to create a complete inventory of all trust assets with accurate evaluations. Major elements include real estate, bank accounts, investments, valuable personal property, businesses, and motor vehicles.
Following the complete trust inventory, the trustee is tasked with distributing or managing property as detailed in the trust instrument. Creditors and taxes must be paid before any beneficiary. Trustees may sell property during distribution unless the trust instrument explicitly forbids it.
Trust administration cases are closed after completing all obligations. Some matters may take longer and require ongoing management. For instance, trusts involving child beneficiaries may continue administration until all parties are adults or deemed financially responsible.
Trust administration cases are complex processes that require extensive financial and legal knowledge. If you are unfamiliar with trust law, hire a trust administration lawyer to help you through this difficult period. Your Henderson trust administration attorney can provide many key services and work with you to carry out your loved one’s wishes. Several ways that Ken R. Ashworth & Associates can assist you include:
A: In Nevada, you are not legally required to have a lawyer for your trust administration case. However, seeking experienced legal counsel can be beneficial to the process and help you avoid steep taxes and easy errors. Your skilled trust administration attorney can organize and evaluate assets, contact interested parties, and create plans to carry out the decedent’s wishes. If conflict arises, they can advocate for your interests in discussions
A: The length of your Nevada trust administration case depends on the complexity of the grantor’s provisions, value, and amount of assets included, and any conflict between beneficiaries. A straightforward trust made for a handful of items, and a few parties may take a few weeks to resolve, whereas cases involving multiple trusts and heated disputes could take months or years to finalize.
A: Every year, trustees and other parties involved make vital mistakes in their Nevada trust administration cases that you should avoid. One frequent error is failing to properly notify all beneficiaries and creditors, which can increase the chances of legal action. Another mistake to avoid is mismanaging assets or poor bookkeeping. Unclear whereabouts of property or co-mingling can draw scrutiny from interested parties and create disputes.
A: One common point of confusion for trustees is whether they require court oversight for Nevada trust administration cases. Trusts are private legal documents that avoid court appearances, unless estate documents are invalid or disputes arise between beneficiaries. This makes trusts distinct from wills, which must go through probate. For Henderson residents, this means a visit to Las Vegas and the Phoenix Building for the Eighth Judicial District Court.
Ken R. Ashworth & Associates recognizes how hard it can be to balance finances and grieving. Our team can draw on our decades of experience in a variety of financial cases to make a positive impact on the proceedings.
Contact us today to book your consultation, during which we can learn about the problematic areas you face and potential solutions for your trust administration case. You may also visit our Henderson offices, located on Whitney Ranch Drive, east of White School Park, southwest of Clark County Wetlands Park, and north of Whitney Mesa Park.
