If you plan to leave assets to your loved ones, you've likely heard about and possibly considered how a trust could fit into your estate plan. But have you thought about who you want to administer that trust when you can no longer do so?
Serving as trustee is more than an honor to be bestowed on a trusted friend or family member: It's a fiduciary responsibility that may require partnering with tax, investment, accounting, and legal professionals. Indeed, the responsibility is so great that many attorneys advise that even if you serve as your own trustee during your working years (when you are young and can maintain control over your assets in a revocable trust), it is advisable to consider naming a successor trustee in case you decide to hand over the responsibility to someone else as you age or if you become incapacitated.
If you're nearing retirement or you no longer want total responsibility for the administration of the trust, you may want to consider working with a corporate trustee such as a trust company or bank trust department.
If you wish to take advantage of the services of a corporate trustee but still want to be involved, you could consider being co-trustees. Developing a working relationship with a corporate trustee provides an opportunity for the trustee to become familiar with your trust documentation, your objectives, and your beneficiaries’ needs and personalities. This also gives you the chance to offer guidance and input and to observe how the trustee might perform in your absence.
"As you enter retirement and face potential health issues, you may want to consider handing over the reins to a professional or a corporate trustee who possesses the skill and experience to act on your behalf," says Fred Heinrichs, vice president of marketing product management at Fidelity. As you weigh this decision, consider the following.
What a trustee does
The trustee's first responsibility is to work with the trust beneficiaries to carry out the terms of the trust. These trust duties generally fall into 3 broad categories.
1. Recordkeeping. The trustee is responsible for maintaining the books and records of the trust throughout the life of the trust, which may stretch across several generations.
- Allocating between principal and income . The trustee may hire a financial services firm to keep track of assets. But it is ultimately the trustee's responsibility to make appropriate allocations of receipts and expenses to principal or income. This task can be legally complex. For instance, some beneficiaries may be eligible to receive trust income only, while others may be able to receive only payments from principal. Moreover, rules about how assets may enter and leave a trust vary from state to state. This means that the trustee may need expertise to provide legal oversight on transactions in several jurisdictions.
- Tax preparation . The trustee is responsible for making sure the trust's tax returns are prepared and filed in a timely manner, which includes making any necessary tax payments. Like individuals, trusts can be audited; therefore, the trustee must know appropriate state statutes to ensure proper oversight of transactions.
2. Trust administration. The trustee must balance the needs of current beneficiaries with those of any future beneficiaries, such as minors or unborn children. The trustee must review beneficiaries' requests for funds and decide when to approve or deny distributions in accordance with the terms of the trust.
"Say your sister wants the trust to pay for her kids to spend one of their undergraduate years abroad," says Heinrichs. "But your brother, who is your trustee, denies the request because his kids intend to stay in the United States. Debates about whether one beneficiary is invading a trust at the expense of the others can cause problems in a family."
3. Investment management. The trustee must ensure that the trust assets are managed in a way that is appropriate for the long-term needs of the beneficiaries, many of whom may be young children.
In most states, a trustee is required to follow the "prudent investor rule." In general, as the fiduciary, the trustee needs to consider the needs of the trust's beneficiaries, the provisions regarding the timing and amount of income and principal distributions, and the preservation of trust assets. Asset diversification is generally required as a duty for prudent fiduciary investing.
The advantages of a corporate trustee
Given the trustee's complex responsibilities, you may wish to consider naming a corporate trustee: typically a bank trust department or a trust company that can perform the duties of a trustee. A corporate trustee can serve as the sole trustee of a trust or can work with a co-trustee, perhaps a trusted family member, to make critical decisions.
A corporate trustee brings experience, objectivity, and professional resources to help ensure that the trust is administered according to the terms of the trust.
A corporate trustee also can help maintain family unity by taking sole responsibility for all distributions. Say that a beneficiary requests a distribution that will invade the trust's assets which may be at the expense of future beneficiaries—for example, in order to purchase a car. A corporate trustee is positioned to weigh this request impartially, without consideration for family politics or other emotional arguments.
Finally, a corporate trustee can guarantee continuity of stewardship—a burden that an individual cannot fairly be asked to shoulder. The life of a typical trust can now average 40 years or more, according to Heinrichs, and because some states have dissolved or extended the rule against perpetuities, some individual trusts may last a century or more. Only a corporate trustee has the potential ability to manage the duties required to oversee the trust—from recordkeeping to asset management—in perpetuity.
The risks of a corporate trustee
Like all financial decisions, the choice of a corporate trustee presents risks. Chief among them involves entrusting a corporate entity with permanent powers over the management of trust assets. In practice, this may mean that a corporate trustee is stricter in making distribution decisions than you might wish. To mitigate this risk, you can stipulate in the terms of the trust that your beneficiaries have the authority to replace the trustee.
A word about trustee fees
All trustees, whether they are individuals or corporate entities, are entitled to reasonable compensation for the work they perform in this role. Most corporate trustees operate under a standard fee schedule that outlines the services they will perform and the charges for those services. Trustees may charge a separate fee for trust administration, recordkeeping, and investment management, or they may bundle their standard fee together.
Before naming a corporate trustee, understand not only the services included in the standard fees but also any other services, for which there may be additional fees. For example, the management of real estate may be charged for separately and in addition to the standard fees.
Weigh the facts
Speaking with a trusted corporate trustee who is experienced in carrying out these duties can help you determine whether an individual, corporate, or co-trustee scenario is right for you. "Be honest with yourself when you sit down to make the final decision," advises Heinrichs. "Does this individual or corporation have the skill, will, and resources to serve your beneficiaries—both now and in the future?"