Trusts - treasure hunt for assets

Pretty much the "gathering of assets" can be a real hidden treasure hunt, unless the trust was only in effect for a short time, AND the trustmaker(s) were extraordinarily well organized.

My dad passed away in 1998, and my mom in 2009. There were three trusts and an estate to deal with. There were assets that should have been re-registered in a different trust when my dad passed, and weren't. There were accounts that still had my Dad's SSN. Although my mother generally kept her stock holdings in certificate form, there were a few (usually the result of splits) that were also held in book form by a transfer agent, that we only became aware of when our accountant was reviewing some 1099's.

Somebody needs to go through all the available documents with a fine tooth comb. Old tax returns; brokerage statements; 1099's; etc may all provide some clues for those kinds of assets. If you are also dealing with widely dispersed real estate holdings, more research may be required.

It is not a simple task; and my mom was reasonably well organized!

same here - it was (is) a huge treasure hunt.... just finding the way the deeds were written - incorrectly by lawyers...

I'm guessing every one of these is different. So you organize things as best you can before hand; and then get good legal and accounting advisors afterwards.