Trustee Issues Notes

Estate planning is an opportunity for people to consider their lifetime goals and needs. It is also an important tool that can be used to determine how their assets will be transferred during their lifetime and at death.

Responsibilities of fiduciaries, whether they act as Trustees, Guardians or Personal Representatives, has never been more complicated, with more duties and areas of specific responsibility. Similarly, there has never been a time when fiduciaries are more at risk of personal liability for failure to understand and document their responsibilities. In fact, fiduciary litigation has evolved over the last decade into a significant area of potential liability for the unwary fiduciary.

Living Trusts have been the estate planning technique of choice for the moderate sized estate plan for many years. 

Many individuals believe that their children and spouses are the perfect choices to act as successor Trustees after the owner’s death or incapacity. However, family dynamics, such as second marriages or issues between siblings or their spouses, frequently make this choice costly – both financially and in terms of personal relationships.