Are you interested in creating a Trust and unsure who to name as your Trustee? Trying to decide who will manage your Trust, either for yourself upon your incapacity, or for your children, is a big task and can be overwhelming. For clients who cannot decide on an individual, or for those who have larger estates that need asset management, consider a corporate trustee.
A corporate trustee can be a bank trust department or trust company who helps to build, manage, and protect your trust assets. A corporate trustee, unlike an individual, has a great deal of experience in trust management because they deal with them every day. Additionally, corporate Trustees have a whole company behind them to support the management and distribution of your trust. A corporate trustee is more familiar with the laws, regulation, and investment strategies for trusts. Because managing trusts is a corporate trustee’s full time job, they can devote all of their attention to management and investment. While an individual may have the best of intentions, they have a full-time job and their own lives to manage in addition to your trust. A corporate trustee is held to a higher standard since they are a professional. Additionally, a corporate trustee is not just one person, so they won’t be unavailable because they are sick or on vacation, or get too busy to handle your trust.
Perhaps the biggest advantage of corporate trustees is their objectivity. Unlike an individual, a corporate trustee has no vested interest in your trust or beneficiaries, other than trying to make your assets grow. A corporate trustee is especially helpful when beneficiaries may not be good money managers and will need someone to regulate their distributions.
A corporate trustee is not the best choice for modest trusts where the cost of a corporate trustee would exceed the trust assets. Additionally, if you know a beneficiary would be better managed with someone who knew their needs and was familiar with them, a corporate trustee may not be the best choice.
If you are considering establishing a Trust but are having a hard time deciding on the fiduciaries, don’t let that stop your from finishing your Estate Plan. At Grissom Law, we help clients walk though the whole Estate Planning process, including finding the right people to act as your Trustee. Call us today at (678)781-9230 to schedule an appointment.
Disclaimer
This Blog/Web Site is made available for educational purposes only as well as to give you general information and a general understanding of the law, not to provide legal advice. By using this blog site you understand that there is no attorney client relationship between you and Grissom Law, LLC.