Creating a trust may be the best decision you ever make from an estate planning perspective. However, before the process can be completed, you need to choose a trustee. This is the person responsible for carrying out the details of the trust upon your death.
Many people look at this process and see nothing more than a formality. They assume that one person is as good as the next. If you take this approach, there’s a good chance that you’ll never feel confident in your decision.
Here are two things that many people overlook when choosing a trustee:
— Common sense. Although targeted expertise is a good thing, you need to choose a trustee with a high level of common sense. They need to have good judgment and be able to make the right decisions at the right time.
— Age and health. Will your trustee be around at the time of your death? Will this person be in good enough health to handle all of the responsibilities he or she is faced with? You don’t want to choose a trustee who is older than you or in bad health.
These are the types of details that many people overlook when choosing a trustee. Although it’s easy to look past these things, you need to focus your time and attention on what matters most.
When you select the right trustee, you can feel good about every last detail of your trust. Furthermore, you will have peace of mind in knowing that the trust administration process is in good hands after you are gone.
Source: AARP, “Choose the Right Executor or Trustee,” accessed Jan. 12, 2017