SOUTHCOAST ESTATE PLANNING BLOG
Can I name more than one successor Trustee for my living trust?
You betcha! You can certainly name more than one person to serve as a successor Trustee of your Massachusetts living trust when you’re gone. They are called co-Trustees. Here’s how it works:
When we do family legal planning here at our office, we frequently use revocable living trusts. We use these types of trusts for several reasons:
- to avoid Probate
- to protect your young child’s inheritance
- to help minimize inheritance taxes.
When we create the revocable living trust with you, we usually name you and your spouse (if we’re working on a joint family trust) as the co-trustees while you’re living, and then when one of you is gone, the other remains the sole trustee.
But what happens when you’re both gone? Who’s going to be in charge of your living trust?
That’s where your successor Trustee comes in. The successor Trustee that you name steps into your shoes and begins to manage the trust according to the rules that you have set up.
As parents, though, we’re often worried that the person we name may take advantage of the role they’ve been assigned and won’t use the money we’ve left in the best interests of our kids. So, sometimes we’re worried about just naming one person to step into this trusted role as our successor Trustee.
How do you help alleviate that concern? You might choose more than one successor trustee to take over the trust. This is called naming “co-Trustees” which you are allowed to do in Massachusetts.
When you name successor co-Trustees, you’ve named 2 or more Trustees who have to work together to manage the trust assets. By naming more than one Trustee, you are helping to create a system of “checks and balances” over the management of trust assets you leave for your kids.
Want to take the steps to protect your family?
If you haven’t created a Family Legal Plan yet, or if you feel your estate plan is “out-of-date,” we can help. Just reach out to our team of dedicated professionals and we’ll walk you through the creation of a plan that will protect your family when they need it the most.