Who Should I Name as a Trustee in My Estate Plan

Who should I name as a trustee in my estate plan? I’m thinking about a trust, I’m thinking about a will that has a trust inside it, but I’m kind of stuck on who should be trustee.

The first thing to think about when you’re trying to decide who should be trustee is what are the actual roles and duties of the trustee?

For many, many trusts, you are going to be the first trustee. You’re gonna be in charge of everything until one of two or potentially three things happens.

First, you become incapacitated. For some reason, physically or mentally, you can no longer handle things. So, this person would be stepping in to handle affairs during your lifetime if you were incapacitated. They would also, that sort of third semi is during your lifetime if you say, I’m just too old and I don’t wanna handle it anymore, it’s your turn.

So, you could abdicate, and so this person would be handling things during your lifetime in those situations. Or they step into the role after you pass away. So, that gives us a question of what, in fact, is the role?

As the trustee, they are in charge of filing trust tax returns, making sure that trust assets are properly invested. Now, it does not have to be a fancy investment. They don’t have to be an investment advisor, but they do have to have them responsibly invested, and that probably involves having an investment advisor of some kind on board, handling things for the trustee. Well, we can’t just stick money under a mattress and let it devalue over time and say it’s in a trust.

They’re also in charge of making sure that the right bills get paid and the right people get things, and they get them at the correct times. It is a fairly large role, or depending on the circumstances, sometimes it’s a wrap-up role where we say, okay, once I’ve passed away, pay all my debts, make sure all the beneficiaries get their stuff, tied up all up with a bow and we’re done.

But sometimes, it’s during my lifetime, I need long-term help. Sometimes it’s, I’ve got kids who are 22 and not responsible, and then my trust says, hold the assets till they’re 35. So, this person is responsible for handling all of that stuff. If you are looking at an individual, you’re looking for someone who is responsible, good with money, cares about you and your beneficiaries, and who is willing to do the job, which is often overlooked. Choosing someone who says, yes, in this situation, I would totally jump in on your behalf. That goes a long way towards being the correct choice versus who’s like, I don’t have time for that if, you know, I’ll handle it if it happens.

But there are other choices other than individuals. We could also choose a professional, so like a trust company. If you’re looking at a trust company, you’re looking at how long have they been in business, and what is their reputation. What processes do they have for working with you, for working with beneficiaries? Does that feel comfortable? Does it seem like it’s gonna be personal enough and meet your needs? You might wanna know how much turnover they have with trust officers because the trust officer is the person who’s gonna be in charge of actually writing those checks for beneficiaries.

And if we have things like requirements for using trust funds for health, education, maintenance, and support, if we have a trust officer that long-term knows your family, it’s a whole lot easier than every two years, it’s a new person in who has to open the file and find out who this person is and what other resources they have. And of course, with a professional, you’re also looking at what is their fee schedule.

So, these are all of the things that you should be thinking about when you’re trying to decide, who should I make trustee?

But essentially, understanding what is it that they are going to need to do for me or for my beneficiaries, and then deciding on that basis, who in my life fits those abilities? If you’ve got questions about this, need help setting up a trustee, I would love to hear from you.