Christopher K. Caswell Trusts and Estates Law Blog on Lawyers.com

Many children, siblings and even friends are named as successor trustees in
revocable living trusts.  Most of them may not even know it, and even more have
no idea what it means.  Perhaps they are grateful for the recognition, or maybe
they are eager to help if called upon.  But do they know what they will have to
do when they become the trustee?

It is difficult to give complete guidance as to all rights and
responsibilities of successor trustees.  Some factors depend on the family
circumstances, or the nature of the assets, other named heirs and even the
structure of the trust and subtrusts.

What's Your Plan? ... for being a
trustee?

First you
have to decide whether you are willing to serve.  What are the circumstances? 
Are you taking over from an incapacitated trustee?  Or a dead trustee?  Or a
trustee that just couldn't (or didn't wnat to ) handle the trustee
responsibility?  Are there co-trustees?

Next, you have to decide what you will have to do.  Here are the top
5 things a successor trustee should be prepared to
do:

1.  Read
the trust.  Sometimes the trust is long, detailed and specific.  That could be
good because the responsibilities and direction are clear.  Sometimes the trust
is short, general and vague.  That is bad because the lack of specifics can
raise questions as to your scope of authority and duties.  Who are the
beneficiaries and what are their
circumstances?

2.  Talk to
the advisors.  To get as clear a snapshot as possible, other trust and grantor
advisors might be able to give you some guidance and advance warning of issues
and concerns that you will need to be aware
of.

3.  Fulfill
your fiduciary duty to beneficiaries.  You may not know what that means, but you
should assume that you have a duty to use diligence, to perform the required
duties of the trust (and as may be required under state law), and that you must
consider the needs of the beneficiaries above your own.  Are you sure that you
want to accept this higher standard?  Are you now just helping out a friend or
othr family member, or are you accepting an increased burden and responsibility
that could be a "job"?

4.  Keep
good records and provide accountings.  Sometimes other professional advisors may
be available to perform this task, and sometimes the trustee must end up doing
it themselves.  In some situations, the trustee may need to submit this
accounting to a court.  Many times, accountings must comply with state principal
and income statutes.  If you are not good at keeping financial records, or can't
(or won't) hire a competent professional to assist you, consider whether serving
as a trustee is right for you.

5.  Be prepared to make decisions.  Serving as a trustee should be
considered as work?  IT doesn't need to be a full time job, and may not even be
a significant increase over prior tasks and workload if the trustee has some
prior relationship with the grantor or beneficiaries.  Are distributions
dependent on your discretion?  Are they required for expenses related to health,
education, maintenance, support, comfort, well being or some other standard? 
Are there any specific guidelines or limitations on your discretion or on any
distributions.  Will your decisions be challenged or questioned by any
beneficiaries?

So What's
Your Plan?  We can help educate and guide you through the successor trustee
forest.  Contact us for a consultation or ask us about our successor trustee
orientation classes.