As successor trustee, get several certified death certificates, find the signed trust and every amendment, and secure the house, mail, and accounts. Don't hand out money or belongings yet; first, check the trust's instructions and the notice rules that apply.
You may be doing this while grieving a parent or spouse. Start with one folder and a short list. This guide starts with practical steps, then explains Alabama's notice rules and the paperwork to discuss with the bank.
What does a successor trustee do after the person passes?
Start by reading the trust's instructions for who takes over and how. If Alabama law applies, once you accept the role, you must manage the trust in good faith under its terms, its purposes, the beneficiaries' interests, and the trust code. Beneficiaries are the people named to receive money or property from the trust. See Ala. Code § 19-3B-801 and the definition of beneficiary in § 19-3B-103(3).
You don't have to solve every question today. Use these lists to gather information, without promising when the family will receive money.
Your first 48 hours
- Get several certified death certificates. Ask the funeral home how to order them. Ask each bank or other office how many it needs and whether it returns them before ordering more.
- Find the signed trust and every amendment. Look in the home files and contact the attorney who prepared it. Keep the pages together. Mark the parts about the next trustee, any co-trustee, and who receives what.
- Secure the house and mail. Check the locks, look for leaks, and arrange care for pets. Keep mail, bills, and account statements in your folder. Photograph the rooms and valuable belongings before moving anything.
- Protect the accounts. Keep account numbers and statements private. Call the bank to ask about its process for a successor trustee. Ask how to report suspected fraud. Don't use the person's login or debit card to move money.
- Pause gifts and handouts. Keep the car keys, jewelry, and checkbook safe while you review the instructions. You can tell family, "I'm gathering the paperwork. I'll share what I learn, but I can't promise a payment date yet."
Once those first steps are underway, make a list of what you still need. A missing statement or amendment is a question to track, not something to guess about.
Your first month
- Check what is in the trust. Gather the deed to the house, checking account statements, the car title, insurance papers, and the 401(k) beneficiary form. Write down the owner or beneficiary shown on each. Use the trust funding checklist to spot gaps to review with your attorney; don't assume everything listed belongs to the trust.
- Work out the notices early. List names, mailing addresses, and contact details from the trust. Ask your attorney who must receive notice and what starts each deadline. Alabama's rules are in the next section.
- Get the bank's paperwork moving. Ask for its trustee change checklist and forms. Record who is handling your request, what you sent, and what is still missing.
- Make a bill calendar. Note mortgage, insurance, and utility due dates. Ask your attorney which bills to pay, from which account, and how to handle a bill that comes due before the bank recognizes you. Ask a CPA to review tax questions before you move money.
- Keep a record from day one. Save receipts, bank letters, and copies of notices. Write down each payment and the reason for it. The trust record-keeping guide gives you a place to start.
This is a work list, not a promise that the trust will be finished in a month. Start with the notice dates before turning to bank forms.
Who do I have to notify, and by when?
Alabama: two 60-day notice rules
If Alabama law applies, Ala. Code § 19-3B-813(b)(2) and (3) sets out two notice duties to qualified beneficiaries:
- Within 60 days after accepting a trusteeship: notify them that you've accepted, and give your name, address, and telephone number.
- Within 60 days after accepting the trusteeship of an irrevocable trust, or the date you learn that a formerly revocable trust has become irrevocable: notify them that the trust exists, identify the settlor or settlors, and tell them about their right to request a copy of the trust instrument and their right to your most recent report under subsection (c). A settlor is someone who created or contributed property to the trust, as defined in § 19-3B-103(16).
The second rule covers a trust becoming irrevocable because the settlor passes or for another reason. Don't treat both clocks as automatically starting on the date the person passes. Use the triggers in § 19-3B-813(b).
"Qualified beneficiaries" is a defined group, not a list of everyone in the family. Ask your attorney to identify that group under § 19-3B-103(14) before you send notices.
There are limits to check. Section 19-3B-813(e) says these two notice rules apply only to trustees accepting a trusteeship on or after January 1, 2007, irrevocable trusts created on or after that date, and revocable trusts becoming irrevocable on or after that date. Subsection (b)(3) also delays notice for a beneficiary of a split interest charitable trust whose interest isn't irrevocable until that beneficiary becomes a current permissible distributee. Bring an older trust or a charitable trust to your attorney for review.
The same section requires a trustee to promptly give a beneficiary a copy of the trust instrument upon request. Its other provisions address ongoing information, reports, and waivers. See § 19-3B-813(a)-(d). Keep a dated copy of what you send and a note of how you sent it.
Other states differ. Find your matching state guide using the pattern /guides/state-trust-law/<state>-trust-law, such as the Alabama, Georgia, or Tennessee guide. Ask attorneys who do estate planning to check the rules for your trust rather than carrying Alabama's deadline into another state.
With the notice dates on your calendar, turn to the next practical hurdle: showing the bank who can act.
How do I get the bank to recognize me as successor trustee?
Call the branch or trust account team and say, "The trustee has passed. I'm named as successor trustee. What documents and forms do you need to update this account?" Ask for the checklist in writing so you can gather the right packet before an appointment.
Ask about your photo ID, a certified death certificate, a certification of trust, and the signed pages naming you and giving you authority. Check whether any co-trustee must sign. Ask how to deliver sensitive documents and whether the bank needs originals, certified copies, or copies.
The institution may have its own trustee change form. For example, Schwab publishes a Trustee Change Form for several types of trust accounts. Ask your bank for its current form; a document accepted at one institution doesn't tell you what another will request.
If the bank asks for more pages or declines the packet, ask what is missing and who reviews trust documents. Save the answer for your attorney. Before sending the whole trust, discuss whether a certification and the relevant pages will meet the request.
What is a certification of trust?
It's a summary of the trust facts used to show someone, such as a bank, who can act. In Alabama, Ala. Code § 19-3B-1013(a) allows a trustee to give a certification instead of the trust instrument to someone other than a beneficiary. It lists the required information:
- The trust's existence and the date the trust instrument was signed.
- The settlor's identity and the current trustee's identity and address.
- The trustee's powers for the transaction or request.
- Whether the trust is revocable or irrevocable, and who holds any power to revoke it.
- The co-trustees' signing authority and whether all must act.
- The trust's taxpayer identification number and the name in which title to trust property may be taken.
Under § 19-3B-1013(b)-(e), any trustee may sign or authenticate it. It must say that no revocation, modification, or amendment makes its statements incorrect. It needn't include the terms saying who gets what. The recipient may still request excerpts from the original trust and later amendments naming the trustee and giving the power needed for the transaction.
Ask your attorney to check that the certification reflects the signed trust and every amendment. That same review can help with decisions beyond bank paperwork.
Do I need a lawyer as successor trustee?
Start with a focused conversation with attorneys who do estate planning. Bring the signed trust, amendments, bank requests, and your list of questions. Ask for help checking your authority, notice recipients, deadlines, and bills before you make payments or promise anyone money.
Get help early if family members disagree, pages are missing, or you don't understand an instruction. Ask what the attorney will handle, what you can do yourself, and how fees will work. You can still gather mail, organize statements, and keep a call log while getting that help.
A house sale is one decision to put on that question list.
Can the successor trustee sell the house?
In Alabama, selling trust property is among the trustee powers listed in Ala. Code § 19-3B-816(a)(2). But § 19-3B-815 makes those powers subject to the trust's limits and the trustee's duties. Being named as successor trustee doesn't answer every question about a particular house.
Before you list it, bring the deed and the signed trust to your attorney. Ask who holds title, what the trust says about the house, who must sign, and what to do if someone still lives there. Keep your notes on the proposed sale and the advice you receive.
Those are the larger decisions. Here are short answers to the questions that often come up while you're gathering the paperwork.
Common questions
What do I do as successor trustee?
Get several certified death certificates, find the signed trust and every amendment, and secure the house, mail, and accounts. Don't hand out money or belongings yet. Keep a folder of documents and a dated list of questions for the bank and your attorney.
How do I get the bank to recognize me as successor trustee?
Ask the bank's trust account team for its document checklist and trustee change forms. Ask about your ID, the death certificate, a certification of trust, and pages showing your authority. Have your attorney review a request you don't understand before you sign or send more pages.
What is a certification of trust?
It's a summary of trust facts, including who the trustee is and what powers they have for the request. Alabama permits it in place of the trust instrument for someone other than a beneficiary, but the recipient may request relevant trust excerpts. See Ala. Code § 19-3B-1013(a) and (e).
Do I need a lawyer as successor trustee?
Ask attorneys who do estate planning for a review of the trust, notice dates, and your first decisions. Bring questions about missing pages, family disagreements, or a bank that won't accept your packet. Ask how to divide the work and what the help will cost.
Can the successor trustee sell the house?
Alabama lists a power to sell trust property, subject to the trust's limits and the trustee's duties. See Ala. Code § 19-3B-816(a)(2) and § 19-3B-815. Ask your attorney to review the deed and trust before you list the house.
Who do I have to notify, and by when?
Alabama's two notice duties to qualified beneficiaries use 60-day clocks, one after accepting a trusteeship and one after accepting an irrevocable trust or learning that a formerly revocable trust became irrevocable. Check the notice items and limits in the Alabama section above and Ala. Code § 19-3B-813(b)(2)-(3) and (e). If another state's law applies, check its rules with your attorney.
When papers and questions start piling up, TrustHelm can help you organize them alongside your family's attorney. Create an account to start keeping them together.
This guide is educational, not legal advice. Ask your family's attorney about decisions for your trust.