Choosing a Trustee
Establishing trusts to transfer wealth — to family members, other loved ones, or charities you care about — is a central component of many estate plans, but it’s not the end of the process. You must also choose a trustee — the individual or organization who will manage your trust’s assets according to your instructions and for the benefit of your beneficiaries.
Our long experience has taught us to take a comprehensive and holistic approach to estate planning. Our accomplished professionals, all of whom are former practicing trust and estate attorneys, can work with you and your legal advisors on all aspects of estate planning, including helping to prepare the next generation to serve as stewards of the family wealth. Our ultimate goal is to help you craft a comprehensive and current estate plan that meets your needs today — and for generations to come.
The corporate trustee
Corporate trustees have administrative, legal, estate planning, tax, and investment resources, knowledge, and skills not typically possessed by nonprofessional trustees. They are also often well suited to deliver objective, solution-oriented advice in a tactful, dispassionate manner; as the interests of current and future trust beneficiaries can sometimes be at odds, trustees must be able to make difficult decisions and mediate disputes that may arise among beneficiaries.
The co-trustee
You may want to consider having an individual and a corporate trustee work together — that is, to serve as co-trustees — with the individual trustee providing oversight and perspectives on the family dynamics and the corporate trustee providing administrative, investment, tax, and other services. Often, this structure can work well for everyone involved.
