Who should you trust to be the trustee?

By Julia L. Frey.   One of the most important decisions one can make when setting up a trust for a child or other loved one is determining who to name as the trustee.  It is a job (not a cake-walk) that requires dilegence, an understanding of the fiduciary responsibilities and an understanding of what the grantor’s intent is for distributions under the Trust.  Over the years I have seen family members or friends named as trustees who have not understood the depth of their role or were not capable.   In one case, a family came to me after a family member stole all of the trust money to feed his drug habit, leaving the beneficiaries without any recourse as he had no means to repay the stolen funds.  Corporate trustees or co-trustees are often the answer to avoid such problems.  A just read a recent article in Worth Magazine by Patrick Kenefick with Neuberger Berman that was right on point so I commend it to you for your reading.  http://worth.com/index.php?option=com_advisors&id=2005&view=single read more