Most people establishing a revocable living trust select a relative or friend to act as the trustee. Many people feel that this is a bestowal of honor or dignity being conveyed to the nominated individual. The trust creators rationalize the choice of related party as trusts have a very personal element – distributing accumulated assets to loved ones or charities. Yet, the relationships between family and friends grow complicated with emotions and other factors after the trust creator dies. The mere fact of a close relationship is not enough to qualify any individual for the role of trustee. We find that many clients benefit from the inclusion of a professional trustee to administer and distribute the trust estate.
We regularly hear from clients during the estate planning process that “my kids all get along,” and “they would never fight over this stuff.” However, there are frequent disputes between siblings related to the actions or omissions of the appointed trustee. Where parents intend to disinherit one child or make uneven distributions among the children while naming one child as trustee, the groundwork is laid for a conflict. Similarly, parents may desire to leave assets in trust for the benefit of a child, preventing the spendthrift child from blowing the accumulated wealth. By naming a sibling of the spendthrift beneficiary as the trustee of the trust share, clients make the appointed child the bad guy. The chosen trustee may quickly learn that the assigned task is nothing but pain and heartache.
Recently, our firm handled a case where the non professional trustee retained assets in trust for decades longer than she should have. The trust agreement called for the immediate disbursement of assets to several individuals and several charities. Rather than make the prompt distributions, the trustee kept the trust intact and reaped hundreds of thousands of dollars in fees for herself. The charities and individual beneficiaries suffered significant damages which were nearly impossible to collect from the destitute individual trustee.
To avoid these difficulties and provide for a more professional administration, we recommend naming a professional trustee, such as a Nevada trust company or bank. Due to our favorable trust laws and no state income tax, Nevada has a strong industry of professional trust companies. Some argue that professional trust companies charge a higher fee than a lay person. That may be true in isolation. Yet, if the beneficiaries fight the trustee through litigation or the trustee does not appropriately distribute the assets as described above, the professional trustee fees are much lower.
One of the great virtues of trusts is their flexibility. Trusts can be drafted to divide the duties between a professional fiduciary and the individual trustee. A trust company can take responsibility for tax issues, issuing account statements, and making investment decisions. The non-professional trustee can be in charge of making distributions to the beneficiaries. The individual trustee will understand the beneficiaries’ problems and idiosyncrasies and can better address the individuals’ needs.
For those who have trusts presently, you may consider removing and replacing your current trustee with a professional. For those considering a trust, we would be happy to discuss the advantages of naming a professional trustee.
Nevada Estate Planning and Probate 