Should I Appoint Co-Trustees?
October 10, 2012 By John Rogers Burk, A Law Corporation
For many people, a comprehensive estate plan includes one or more trusts. Trusts offer numerous advantages such as flexibility, control and both tax and probate avoidance in some cases. Although there are a wide variety of trusts that you can choose from when you decide to create a trust, all trusts require the same basic elements to start—a beneficiary, a trustee and funds.
When deciding who to appoint as trustee, you may consider appointing co-trustees, but is this really a wise idea? Although only you can make that decision, there are some things you may wish to consider before making the decision.
Estate planning rules generally allow you to name anyone you wish as trustee and do not limit you to naming just one trustee. For this reason, people often consider naming more than one trustee. If, for example, you have more than one child you may be concerned that naming one child as trustee will create a family rift. While naming two children may prevent this, it can lead to conflict within the trust itself. When there are two trustees that cannot agree with each other, important decisions could end up in a deadlock. If you feel that it is important to include more than one trustee in your trust, consider naming three instead of two so that decisions can be made by a majority vote. Or appoint a trust advisor, someone who is independent and can be called upon to break a tie vote and perform numerous other functions where independence is desired. This is also referred to as a special trustee.
Of course, another option is simply to appoint one neutral trustee instead of involving family members. This could be an attorney or a professional trustee. By appointing a neutral trustee, not only do you avoid creating conflict within the family, but you have someone who is not emotionally interested in the outcome of trust decisions overseeing those decisions. This avoids both conflict within the family and a conflict of interest with any decisions made regarding the trust itself. Be sure to talk to your estate planning attorney before you make a decision regarding who to appoint as the trustee, or co-trustees, of your trust.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: John Rogers Burk
Experienced estate planning attorneys Roseville CA of the John Rogers Burk, A Law Corporation offers estate planning and business planning resources to residents of Roseville CA.
Copyright John Rogers Burk, A Law Corporation
More information about John Rogers Burk, A Law Corporation
Disclaimer: While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of this publication, it is not intended to provide legal advice as individual situations will differ and should be discussed with an expert and/or lawyer. For specific technical or legal advice on the information provided and related topics, please contact the author.
Estate planning rules generally allow you to name anyone you wish as trustee and do not limit you to naming just one trustee. For this reason, people often consider naming more than one trustee. If, for example, you have more than one child you may be concerned that naming one child as trustee will create a family rift. While naming two children may prevent this, it can lead to conflict within the trust itself. When there are two trustees that cannot agree with each other, important decisions could end up in a deadlock. If you feel that it is important to include more than one trustee in your trust, consider naming three instead of two so that decisions can be made by a majority vote. Or appoint a trust advisor, someone who is independent and can be called upon to break a tie vote and perform numerous other functions where independence is desired. This is also referred to as a special trustee.
Of course, another option is simply to appoint one neutral trustee instead of involving family members. This could be an attorney or a professional trustee. By appointing a neutral trustee, not only do you avoid creating conflict within the family, but you have someone who is not emotionally interested in the outcome of trust decisions overseeing those decisions. This avoids both conflict within the family and a conflict of interest with any decisions made regarding the trust itself. Be sure to talk to your estate planning attorney before you make a decision regarding who to appoint as the trustee, or co-trustees, of your trust.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: John Rogers Burk
Experienced estate planning attorneys Roseville CA of the John Rogers Burk, A Law Corporation offers estate planning and business planning resources to residents of Roseville CA.
Copyright John Rogers Burk, A Law Corporation
More information about John Rogers Burk, A Law Corporation
View all articles published by John Rogers Burk, A Law Corporation
Disclaimer: While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of this publication, it is not intended to provide legal advice as individual situations will differ and should be discussed with an expert and/or lawyer. For specific technical or legal advice on the information provided and related topics, please contact the author.
