Who should serve as a trustee?

Choosing a Trustee can be a challenging decision, especially since Grantors commonly want a family member to be the Trustee. For a Revocable Trust, the Grantor will typically serve as a Trustee during his or her lifetime, either alone or together with the Grantor’s spouse, another family member, or an Independent Trustee. After the Grantor’s death, the Grantor’s surviving spouse, if any, or one or more children of the Grantor are a common appointment. It is important that that the successor Trustee named to act upon the Grantor’s death is able to work with the Executor of the Grantor’s estate, as those two persons will have to work closely together during the estate administration. After the division of the trust assets for the beneficiaries, if there are ongoing trusts, many more factors enter into the equation. For an Irrevocable Insurance Trust, the Grantor cannot serve as Trustee, and an Independent Trustee may be the best option.