The decision of who to name as trustee of your Trust is an important one. An option available to you when making this decision is to designate a corporate trustee, a company that will manage the assets in your trust in place of an individual trustee. Some of the advantages of choosing a corporate trustee include:
-Corporate trustees typically have extensive experience managing Trusts
-Corporate trustees are not as susceptible to emotional influence when managing Trusts as family members might be
-Using a corporate trustee removes the potential for conflict among family members who want to be named individual trustee
-Corporate trustees generally have considerable resources available to them when managing Trusts that individual trustees might lack
That said, there are, of course, several disadvantages to choosing a corporate trustee over an individual one. Examples of these are:
-Corporate trustees are often more expensive than individual trustees
-Corporate trustees might not be as familiar with your exact situation as an individual trustee might be
-Corporate trustees might not account for the emotional ramifications of asset management decisions to the extent that an individual trustee might be
Whether you name a corporate or an individual trustee, it is important to name a successor trustee in the event that the one you named is not able to serve. For help drafting a Trust, or to review an existing Trust, please call the elder law and estate attorneys of Bach, Jacobs & Byrne, P.A. at (941) 906-1231 to set up a consultation.
