Law Offices of Christine Chung
  • Home
  • About Us
    • Our Philosophy
    • Our Planning Process
    • Our Fees
  • Attorney
  • Virtual Services
  • Practice Areas
    • Estate Planning
    • Probate Administration
    • Trust Administration
  • Blog
  • FAQ
    • Estate Planning
    • Probate
    • Trust Administration
  • Contact Us

Choosing Who Will Represent You: YOUR TRUSTEE (PART I OF III)

6/24/2014

0 Comments

 
Choosing a Trustee
One of the most important and often difficult decisions you will make in estate planning is choosing a trustee to manage your affairs and provide for your loved ones when you become disabled or after your passing. Typically, if you have a revocable living trust, you may be your own trustee. And if you are married, you and your spouse may be co-trustees of your revocable living trust. 

But when you and your spouse pass away, the question as to who will be the successor trustee can be daunting. People usually would choose an adult child, relative or a close friend. But would they be up to the task? The ones closest to us may not always be the best qualified to be your trustee. 

When choosing a trustee, here are some factors to think about. 

Locality: It would be ideal if your trustee lives nearby to perform his or her trustee duties efficiently, especially if real property is involved. For example, if the trustee has to sell your house, it would be better if your trustee was in the area to meet with the local real estate agent, appraiser, home inspector, etc. 

Work Ethic: Being the trustee of someone’s estate can be overwhelming with the numerous tasks. Is your trustee responsible to manage your bank accounts, pay bills, maintain insurance, etc.? The person should also be honest, fair, detail-oriented, organized, dependable and a good communicator. 

Ability to Use Good Judgment: Your trustee does not have to be a professional or have an MBA degree, but he or she should be business savvy and be able to use good judgment and common sense when managing the affairs of your estate. Also, this person should not be afraid to ask for help and should be sensitive to your desires and the needs of the beneficiaries. 

Number of Co-Trustees: Choosing more than one trustee may be a good idea so they can help each other and not have one person bear the burden of handling the affairs alone. But you would have to consider whether the co-trustees would get along.  Oftentimes, people would designate their children as co-trustees and have them serve equally. However, if you choose to go this route, consider if the children can get along and be able to make decisions without any conflict.  

Availability: Is the person too busy to handle your estate or are there other aspects of his or her life that would distract him or her from managing your affairs? 

Professional Corporate Trustee: Of course, you can always choose a professional who may charge more than a relative or close friend.  Corporate trustees would be banks or financial service firms. If you can’t name someone qualified to serve or you foresee potential family conflict, you can avoid these problems by hiring a professional to handle the affairs. 
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    About the Author

    Christine Chung, Esq.
    [email protected]
    949.529.1480

    Archives

    March 2020
    January 2020
    November 2019
    October 2019
    November 2018
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    November 2016
    October 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    March 2015
    January 2015
    September 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014

    Categories

    All
    Advance Health Care Directive
    Digital Assets
    Digital Property
    Estate Planning
    Estate Tax
    Fiduciary
    Guardian
    Health Care Power Of Attorney
    Income Taxes
    Joint Tenancy
    Living Trust
    Probate
    Trustee
    Wills

    RSS Feed

    View my profile on LinkedIn
Picture
Home | About Us | Attorneys | Virtual Services | Practice Areas | FAQs | Contact Us 

© 2018 Law Offices of Christine Chung. All rights reserved. Disclaimer/Privacy Notice
  • Home
  • About Us
    • Our Philosophy
    • Our Planning Process
    • Our Fees
  • Attorney
  • Virtual Services
  • Practice Areas
    • Estate Planning
    • Probate Administration
    • Trust Administration
  • Blog
  • FAQ
    • Estate Planning
    • Probate
    • Trust Administration
  • Contact Us