Description
Administer and safeguard personal and institutional trust, estate, and fiduciary accounts, overseeing investments, cash management, distributions, compliance, and client relationships in accordance with governing documents, fiduciary standards, and regulations.
- • Review and interpret trust and estate documents; open accounts, obtain tax IDs, and establish proper titling.
- • Prepare or direct fiduciary accountings, beneficiary statements, and required court or regulatory reports.
- • Coordinate preparation and filing of fiduciary tax returns or provide complete financial data to external CPAs.
- • Approve and document distributions and bill payments in line with governing documents and internal policies.
- • Monitor cash flow, reserve levels, and principal/income allocations to meet obligations and budgets.
- • Oversee investments under the Prudent Investor Rule and the account’s investment policy; liaise with portfolio managers.
- • Supervise trust administrators and operations staff; set priorities and evaluate performance.
- • Delegate signatory and transaction authority within established fiduciary controls.
- • Maintain current knowledge of trust law, state principal and income acts, bank policies, and OCC/FDIC guidance.
- • Coordinate and respond to internal audits, compliance reviews, and regulatory examinations.
- • Develop and enforce internal control policies for asset acceptance, disbursements, and recordkeeping.
- • Build and maintain relationships with grantors, beneficiaries, attorneys, CPAs, appraisers, insurers, and custodians.
- • Analyze account performance, tax impacts, and beneficiary needs to identify opportunities and risks.
- • Advise clients and management on fiduciary objectives and discretionary decisions; guide internal teams on processes.
- • Evaluate liquidity needs and recommend asset sales or contributions to fund distributions and expenses.
- • Ensure timely receipt, valuation, and custody of assets; process deposits and transfers accurately.
- • Determine appropriate principal/income allocations, amortization, and depreciation for fiduciary accounting.
- • Manage risk and insurance coverage for trust-owned assets, including unique or illiquid holdings.
- • Manage tax withholding and reporting associated with distributions and retirement assets held in trust.
- • Document and escalate conflicts, complaints, and discretionary matters to the fiduciary committee as needed.
- • Lead staff training in trust administration, fiduciary accounting, and compliance procedures.
- • Support estate settlement by marshalling assets, paying debts and taxes, and making final distributions.
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Management & Entrepreneurship
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Tasks & skills:
O*NET occupational data (work activities, skills, knowledge).
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This site includes information from O*NET by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. Career Clutch has modified some of this information for student readability. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.
Last reviewed: Jan 2026
