The trustee of your trust fund arguably serves one of the most important roles in your estate plan. This is because this individual must act as the legal owner of the assets you transferred to your trust fund. Upon your unfortunate passing, they must distribute your trust fund assets to your beneficiaries in the exact way you spelled it out in your terms and conditions. With these important responsibilities in mind, you should understand the gravity of selecting the best-suited individual to fill this position. Continue reading to learn tips for appointing the right trustee and how an experienced New York City trusts attorney at Zimmet Law Group, P.C. can lead you toward the best decision.
What tips should I follow when appointing a trustee for my trust?
When initially reflecting on who you should appoint as the trustee of your trust fund, you may consider your spouse or your child. This may make sense if your spouse or your child is your only beneficiary and you fully trust them to manage what ultimately becomes their inheritance.
However, you may want to reconsider this if your spouse or your child is not the only beneficiary of your trust. That is, this may be inappropriate if you named other beneficiaries to your trust because feelings of jealousy, suspicion in how the trustee handles these funds, and overall conflict may arise amongst them.
In this case, it may be better to appoint a neutral third party, such as your lawyer, your accountant, or a corporate trustee.
This is the first of many tips you should follow. For additional guidance, please contact our firm directly.
What tips should my trustee follow to fulfill their fiduciary duty?
Your appointed trustee must possess a legal capacity, along with the ability to fulfill their fiduciary duty. Their legal capacity means they must be at least 18 years of age and be of sound mind. Then, their ability to fulfill their fiduciary duty means they must be willing to act in the best interest of you, your trust, and your beneficiaries.
Without further ado, below are tips that may help your trustee uphold this duty:
- They should continually read your trust’s terms and conditions to ensure they do not miss anything.
- They should learn best practices for investing your trust assets with minimal risks.
- They should get into the habit of keeping all financial records related to your trust.
- They should grow comfortable with being fully transparent with your beneficiaries.
A final tip for you is that you should ensure your potential trustee has a clear understanding of their fiduciary duty before you let them agree to this position. To conclude, there is no time like the present to begin setting up your trust. So please, at your earliest possible convenience, get in touch with a skilled New York City estate planning attorney from Zimmet Law Group, P.C.
