The Unique Finance Blog

WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN A TRUSTEE

When selecting a Trustee the most important qualities are honesty, stability, dependability, organization, financial experience, and ability to devote time and energy on an impartial basis for the benefit of all Beneficiaries. The Trustee is the most pivotal and critical part of any Trust Agreement.

Ask any lawyer, accountant, life insurance agent, financial planner, mortgage brokers, stock brokers, or any lay person for his definition of asset protection and he will likely tell you that it’s the positioning of your assets against potential creditors who can sue you for typical negligence.

A CONTRACT is defined from the Latin word contractus. An agreement between two or more parties, especially one that is written and enforceable by “law.” To enter into by contract; establish or settle by formal agreement. An agreement between two or more parties which creates obligations to do or not do the specific things that is the subject of that agreement.

Trusts can be used to accomplish any number of estate planning goals. But the success of a trust strategy often depends on how well the trust is managed — and that depends on the abilities of the person (or institution) named as trustee.

In today’s world, it is more common than ever to find dual income households. Recent estimates by the Department of Labor find that women comprise around 47 percent of the American workforce. Compare this percentage to 1960 accounts estimating women in the workplace at around 33 percent. Because of the proliferation of working women, special planning is necessary to properly address the issues faced by households where both spouses work.

“Americans”, it is sometimes said,” like to have their cake and eat it too”. If you’ve worked hard to create financial security for yourself and those you love, it is difficult to sometimes grasp a concept that is familiar more to Europeans than it is to us. The concept is that you can form an irrevocable trust for the benefit solely of our loved ones, choosing a third party (friend or relative) as trustee and from which you personally receive no benefit other than the pleasure of providing for the comfort and financial security of those you love.

There is one thing we all share in common: our days on this planet will come to an end – probably by surprise. That is about as basic a ‘common denominator’ as you can possibly get. To protect our loved ones from having to endure years of court procedures and legal fees, the Revocable Living Trust (‘RLT’) is a widely-used way to avoid the two related court proceedings known as Probate and Conservatorship, and to pass our assets on to one’s loved ones with favorable tax planning.