The role of a trustee is very important, and entails many responsibilities. The trustee of your Trust will be in charge of distributing trust assets and managing the trust property for the benefit of the trust beneficiaries. Though the job is important and a big responsibility, you can split it up amongst multiple trustees to lighten their load. You should also consider a corporate trustee for long term trusts. Our experience has shown that if a trust is managed by an individual over a long time, they tend to either neglect the trust, or make mistakes that corporate trustees just don’t do.
Most trusts are set up with a single trustee, but you can assign multiple trustees, or “co-trustees.” The actual trust document will name the trustees, each trustee’s duties, and their authority. The most basic trustee duties include managing trust assets, filing taxes, distributing trust assets, and if there are multiple trustees, cooperation with other trustees. Cooperating with co-trustees can be the most important duty when multiple trustees are named in a trust.
There are many reasons why you may want to consider multiple trustees. For example, when you only have one individual Trustee, he or she will always need to be available to participate in the administration of the trust. That works fine in a short term situation. But it can create problems over long periods of time. It means that regardless of what is going on in the Trustee’s life, may it be illnesses, travel, personal or business problems, or anything else that might divert the Trustee’s attention from trust administration, he or she still need to be available to perform trust duties and communicate with beneficiaries.
Furthermore, the age old adage “two heads are better than one,” applies to trust administration. Co-Trustees can combine their skills and knowledge to best serve the Trust. They also can serve as sounding boards for each other. One co-trustee can handle whatever needs to be done if the other co-trustee is temporarily indisposed.
If co-trustees butt-heads, or if one co-trustee disagrees with an action by another co-trustee, he has the authority to object in writing to that action and, if necessary, submit a petition to prevent the action it in probate court. In most cases, such an objection will shield the co-trustee from legal action and liability for any negative consequences.
The Astill Law Office has provided high quality legal services for over 30 years. We specialize in wills, trusts, estate planning, and asset protection. If you have any questions about creating a Trust, Will, or estate planning in general, contact The Astill Law Office at 801-438-8698.