Trusts can be excellent tools, but they are only as good as the trustee someone chooses to administer them. A trustee has ultimate control over the assets in a trust and the access other people have to that property.
Many people planning a trust spend a lot of time trying to choose the right individual to serve as their trustee. They may want someone from their family or someone that they have known for years. There are numerous limitations to this approach. The first is that your trustee might be close in age to you, meaning they could die before you or may only outlive you by a few years.
Another concern is how people can sometimes behave in unpredictable and selfish ways when it comes to resources like trust assets. Bringing in a professional trustee or fiduciary can be a great solution for many people.
What are the advantages of using a professional trustee?
A professional trustee has a legal obligation to the trust and its beneficiaries without the personal relationships that can sometimes complicate trust administration. A professional fiduciary will more strictly adhere to the terms of the trust and will be less likely to succumb to pressure from your beneficiaries about modifying your wishes.
Additionally, a professional fiduciary will transfer that authority to someone else when they retire or leave their profession. That way, you can have fiduciary services that persist for generations. This approach can be particularly beneficial for someone who wants to leave a trust for multiple generations of descendants for charitable purposes.
Learning more about using a professional fiduciary for your trust can help you decide if this is the solution you need.