A trustee is a required component for establishing a valid and enforceable trust in New York State. Meaning that you cannot have your beneficiary inherit the property and assets stored in your trust without this being facilitated by this third party. And with that, you must choose wisely with whom you wish to fill this position. Without further ado, please continue reading to learn the duties and responsibilities a trustee must be willing and able to execute, and how an experienced Putnam County trusts attorney at the Law Office of Andres D. Gil, PLLC, can help you make your mind up.
What duties and responsibilities must a trustee agree to?
It is a serious obligation to step into the role of a trustee. And so, before you establish your trust document, you should have an open and honest conversation with the person you have in mind to serve in this position. Ultimately, they should give explicit permission and confirm their willingness and ability to work on your behalf. If you do not want to place undue pressure on one of your loved ones, you may sooner employ a financial institution, trust company, attorney, or accountant for this. Nonetheless, you should make your prospective trustee aware of the following duties and responsibilities expected of them:
- Exercising a mental capacity to strictly adhere to the terms and conditions outlined in the trust document.
- Fulfilling a fiduciary duty to act in the best interests of the beneficiaries meant to inherit the trust’s assets.
- Practicing smart money management when investing the trust’s assets, filing necessary tax returns, etc.
- Fostering a transparent environment in which they inform beneficiaries of all actions taken with the trust.
What happens if I change my mind about the trustee I appointed?
Your prospective trustee may have been in full agreement to be named as your trustee. But once you execute your trust document, they may have gotten cold feet, so to speak. Or, circumstances beyond their reasonable control may now limit their ability to assume this role, such as a lost mental capacity due to age or health issues, or even death. Lastly, you may have observed them act in a way that makes you no longer trust them with this responsibility, such as mismanaging their personal finances to the point of declaring bankruptcy.
Given any of these hypotheticals, you may inevitably change your mind about the trustee you appointed. However, you must remain calm if this happens. For a revocable trust, amending the document might be an easy fix. This is still possible for an irrevocable trust; it just may be more challenging to execute. That is, it may require court intervention or for your beneficiaries to advocate for a change on your behalf. This is why, since the beginning, you may be better off naming a co-trustee or successor trustee.
To ensure your estate plan is well fleshed out, please seek the aid of a skilled estate planning attorney in Putnam County. You may rest better knowing that the team at the Law Office of Andres D. Gil, PLLC, will not let you enter this legal process without being properly prepared. So please pick up the phone and request our services today.
