Banks are in the business of charging fees to act as trustee to cover overhead and make a profit. Some families have members who manage a trust and may or may not charge fees. It can be a lot of time-consuming work to manage the data, including preparing it for CPA to file the trust return, pay any property taxes, etc. it as just as time consuming to track and account for revenues from a small well as it is for a large well. Is all the net income distributed or is some portion held by bank for investment? The question is what is written in the trust document. Does it specify that Bank A is the trustee until termination? Do the beneficiaries have any right to change the trustee and under what circumstances. Are the beneficiaries close-knit so they can discuss and agree on a replacement trustee? Do beneficiaries have a right to r]ask questions and review the records? A lawyer can help guide you by reviewing the terms of the trust. One suggestion is that you consider that banks do not hold on to the paperwork in files. Records may be only partially scanned or only retained for a short time. The beneficiaries should consider asking for original records be sent to one family member or full scans forwarded for your records. Ask for the entire tax returns, not just a beneficiary’s individual K-1. Perhaps you will want to take the lead in gathering, scanning and retaining records.
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