5 Reasons Why Uncle Bill May Not Make a Good Trustee

If you have created a dynasty trust that you intend to last for decades into the future, choosing the right trustee is critical to the trust’s longevity and ultimate success.

Initially you may think that a family member, such as a sibling (“Uncle Bill” to your children, who are the initial beneficiaries of your Dynasty Trust), will be the best choice as trustee.  After all, Uncle Bill understands the personalities and varying needs of your children, and since Bill has always been frugal, he will surely keep the costs of administering the trust down. These are good reasons to possibly select a family member, like Bill, to serve as trustee.

However, Uncle Bill may not make a good trustee for a long-lasting dynasty trust since he will probably not be equipped to handle all of his fiduciary obligations on his own.  Instead, he will need to hire legal, investment and tax advisors to insure that the trust is being distributed, managed and invested as you have intended.  All of these expenses will add up and may ultimately cost much more than the fees of a corporate trustee, such as a bank or trust company. Many corporate trustees can meet all fiduciary obligations under one roof for one comprehensive fee. 

Below are five reasons why you should consider choosing a corporate trustee for your dynasty trust instead of Uncle Bill:

1. A Corporate Trustee Doesn’t Have a Potentially Disruptive Personal Life.  A corporate trustee won’t become ill or die, get married or divorced, have children or grandchildren, go on an extended vacation, move to a foreign country, or get distracted by day-to-day life that can get in the way of properly administering your trust.
2.  Corporate Trustee is Unbiased.  A corporate trustee won’t favor one of your children over another (unless that’s what you intended) and will act in an unbiased manner in making distributions that will benefit both the current and remainder beneficiaries.
3. A Corporate Trustee Avoids Conflicts of Interest and Self-Dealing.  A corporate trustee won’t sell the family company or a vacation home (that you intended to eventually go to your grandchildren) to him or herself or a friend at less than fair market value.
4. A Corporate Trustee Invests Appropriately.  A corporate trustee won’t invest all of the trust assets in a money market, real estate, or hedge fund but will diversify the portfolio to benefit both the current and remainder beneficiaries (subject to any specific instructions you list in the trust agreement).
5. Corporate Trustee Has Expert Knowledge.  A corporate trustee won’t need to hire a slew of attorneys and accountants to interpret the trust agreement and will keep current on changes in the laws governing trusts, fiduciaries and taxes.

Final Considerations

The duties and responsibilities of a trustee are extensive:  From managing the requests and expectations of the current and remainder beneficiaries, to providing periodic reports of the trust assets, liabilities, receipts and disbursements to the current and remainder beneficiaries, to prudently investing the trust assets, to preparing and filing all required tax forms, the work of a trustee seemingly never ends. 

Because of the breadth of duties and responsibilities, a corporate trustee rather than Uncle Bill may be the best option for your dynasty trust.  Please contact our office if you have any questions about the selection of a trustee generally or the use of corporate trustees, so that we can assist you in selecting the right individual or entity to serve as your trustee.

To comply with the U.S. Treasury regulations, we must inform you that (i) any U.S. federal tax advice contained in  this newsletter  was not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used, by any person for the purpose of avoiding U.S. federal tax  penalties that may  be imposed on such person and (ii) each taxpayer should seek advice from their tax adviser based on the taxpayer’s  particular circumstances.