Trust Advisory Services

Serving as a trustee is an ongoing fiduciary role that carries personal liability under Florida law. Trustees regularly face decisions involving distributions, beneficiary communications, asset management, tax coordination, and statutory compliance. Waiting until a problem develops to hire counsel increases risk, delay, and cost.

Trust Advisory Services provides trustees with a structured, ongoing attorney–client relationship so that legal guidance is available when needed, without having to locate, interview, and retain new counsel each time an issue arises.

Trust Advisory Services are designed for ongoing irrevocable trust administration, not for the initial post-death trust administration period.

When a grantor dies, and a revocable trust becomes irrevocable, there is an initial administration phase involving asset collection, notices, creditor matters, and required statutory steps. That initial administration is handled through a separate engagement.

Trust Advisory Services begin after the initial administration period is complete and the trust transitions to ongoing management. This commonly includes:

• Sub-trusts created after a death (such as credit shelter, marital, or generation-skipping trusts)
• Long-term irrevocable trusts holding real estate, investment portfolios, or business interests
• Trusts with continuing discretionary distributions to beneficiaries
• Trusts requiring ongoing fiduciary oversight, tax coordination, and compliance

Many trustees of these ongoing trusts do not have regular legal counsel after the initial administration concludes. Trust Advisory Services are structured specifically to fill that gap — providing continuing legal guidance for trustees serving in a long-term fiduciary role.

Without an established advisory relationship, trustees must repeatedly:

• Locate and vet an attorney
• Sign new engagement agreements
• Pay new retainers
• Bring counsel up to speed on the trust
• Wait for availability during time-sensitive situations

A quarterly advisory arrangement eliminates these delays. The relationship is already established. The trust is already familiar to us. Trustees receive a guaranteed response within one business day and can seek guidance before decisions create exposure.

Trustee legal fees are generally payable from the trust as an administrative expense.

Ongoing legal advice regarding trustee duties and fiduciary compliance. Engagements are structured in quarterly terms and may be discontinued at the conclusion of any quarter upon written notice.

Services may include:

• Interpretation of trust provisions as questions arise
• Guidance on discretionary and mandatory distributions
• Assistance with beneficiary communications
• Review of trustee correspondence
• Coordination with CPAs and financial advisors
• Preparation of routine trust administration documents (including deeds, assignments, and distribution documents)
• Assistance with trust funding and asset transfers
• Review of trust accountings prior to delivery
• Proactive identification of foreseeable risk areas

Trust Advisory Services do not include litigation representation. If disputes arise, we assist with risk assessment and coordination with litigation counsel.

Trustee Advisory – Level 1

Who this is for:

• Designed for low- to moderate-complexity trusts.

What’s included:

• Ongoing legal advice on trust administration issues
• Review and interpretation of trust provisions
• Guidance on fiduciary duties, distributions, notices, and compliance
• Review (not preparation) of routine trustee correspondence
• Coordination with CPA or financial advisor as needed
• Email and phone access with response within one business day (client must copy paralegal)

Time parameters:

• Up to 2 hours of attorney time per quarter (plus paralegal time)

Unused time does not roll over. Work outside the scope is addressed separately

Trustee Advisory – Level 2

Who this is for:

• Designed for trusts with real estate, business interests, multiple beneficiaries, or ongoing or complex distributions.

Includes everything in Level 1, plus:

• Preparation of routine trust administration documents (deeds, assignments, distribution documents)
• Assistance with trust funding and asset transfers
• Review of trust accountings prior to delivery
• More active coordination with advisors and institutions
• Proactive check-ins when issues are foreseeable

Time parameters:

• Up to 5 hours of attorney time per quarter (plus paralegal time)

Unused time does not roll over. Work outside the scope is addressed separately

Trust Advisory Services are designed to reduce trustee stress, prevent avoidable mistakes, protect trustees from personal liability, and ensure the trust is administered properly and efficiently. For trustees, having counsel in place before a problem arises is prudent fiduciary practice.

Trustees are often placed in a difficult role with real personal risk. Our role is to ensure you are protected, informed, and supported at every stage of trust administration.

• Deep experience in trust and estate administration
• Clear, practical legal advice—not vague guidance
• Proactive issue spotting to prevent disputes
• Structured fees with defined scope
• Collaborative approach with financial and tax professionals

If you are serving as a trustee and would like to discuss whether Trust Advisory Services are appropriate for your situation, you may schedule a complimentary consultation. During the consultation, we will review the trust, your role as trustee, and the level of legal support needed, and then recommend the appropriate advisory structure.

Call us today at 954-580-3690 with any questions, or complete the easy form below, and we’ll call you to schedule a consultation. We take pride in responding to all inquiries promptly. Our trust attorneys support clients in Plantation, Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton, West Palm Beach, and Miami, FL.