When you establish a trustee, you will appoint a trustee. This person performs a crucial role in managing the affairs and the assets of the trust. If you do not opt for a professional trustee, the trustee would likely be a family member or someone else close to you. However, there is a chance that the trustee may not be alive for the entire duration of your trust. Accordingly, you would designate a successor trustee to take their place if the original trustee died or became incapacitated.
Even though you may only think of the primary trustee, you must also consider the successor trustee. This should also be a person who has the knowledge and capacity to manage the affairs of your trust. Like any other part of your estate plan, you should periodically review the designation to ensure that it matches your current life circumstances. The person previously designated may no longer be a close part of your family or may not even be alive themselves.
If your trust continues after you die, it could be harder to change the trustee once the successor trustee has assumed the role of the trustee. Therefore, you should have everything in place now to keep your family from having to go through stress and difficulty. These are the reasons why you have trust in the first place, so you should make sure that the terms are up-to-date because they are still legally binding. Old designations can cause current problems for your family.
Call a Lincolnshire Estate Planning Attorney
To establish a trust or to update your successor trustee designations, you should get the help of an experienced estate planning attorney. Call the lawyers at Charles T. Newland & Associates at 847.797.9300 or contact us online to discuss your particular needs.
