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Todd Whatley continues his trust-focused discussion by exploring the critical yet often overlooked process of trustee selection. He examines why this decision deserves more attention than the typical "oldest child" default approach, emphasizing that being a trustee is a demanding job requiring specific qualifications.
• Trustee responsibilities include managing assets, ensuring compliance with trust terms, distributing assets fairly, and handling administrative tasks
• Commercial trustees provide expertise and impartiality, often worth their fee to prevent family conflicts
• Key qualities in an effective trustee include financial acumen, organizational skills, integrity, and communication ability
• Common mistakes include selecting family members without proper qualifications or choosing unavailable/uninvolved trustees
• Co-trustees can provide shared responsibility and checks and balances but may create conflict and slow decision-making
• Special circumstances like special needs trusts, charitable trusts, and trusts with vulnerable beneficiaries require specialized trustee knowledge
• Trustee challenges include beneficiary disputes, trustee burnout, and balancing the interests of different beneficiaries
• Attorneys should provide education and resources to help trustees understand their responsibilities
If you want to learn more about elder law coaching or have questions, visit theelderlawcoach.com to schedule a conversation with Todd.
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