Adding a trust to your estate plan can protect your loved ones and give you more control over your legacy. Unfortunately, a trust is often only as good as the trustee you name.
If you choose someone who turns out to be unethical and who has no qualms about stealing assets, the beneficiaries of your estate will undoubtedly suffer. If you select someone trustworthy but unorganized, they could miss managed assets and diminish the value of the trust.
There’s also the risk of a trustee dying unexpectedly and leaving you with no one to manage your affairs. All of those could be reasons why you might want to consider hiring a professional trustee.
Fiduciary services offer oversight and long-term protection
When you hire a professional trustee or go to a company to provide you with fiduciary services, there are numerous benefits when compared to having a personal friend or family member serve as the trustee.
When you use fiduciary services from a company, the death of one individual won’t necessarily put the trust at risk. The company can simply name another professional to step up and take over, just as they can when someone retires or move on to a different job.
Additionally, hiring a professional to serve as trustee helps ensure that there will be oversight to ensure that they fulfill their fiduciary duty. Someone serving as a trustee in a professional capacity will be under more scrutiny and will have a harder time embezzling funds or otherwise mismanaging the trust.
Exploring what you want your trust to do and how long you want it to last can help you determine if hiring someone for fiduciary services is your best option. Your estate planning attorney can provide valuable guidance.