{"id":73,"date":"2011-01-28T11:35:46","date_gmt":"2011-01-28T19:35:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wyattlegal.com\/blog\/?p=73"},"modified":"2012-03-20T10:49:04","modified_gmt":"2012-03-20T17:49:04","slug":"using-a-trust-protector-will-supercharge-your-estate-planning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wyattlegal.com\/blog\/2011\/01\/28\/using-a-trust-protector-will-supercharge-your-estate-planning\/","title":{"rendered":"Using a Trust Protector Will Supercharge Your Estate Planning"},"content":{"rendered":"

When you establish a trust, one of the biggest decisions you make is who will serve as trustee if you become ill or pass away.\u00a0 You must be able to rely on your successor trustee to follow your instructions, manage trust assets like a reasonably prudent person, make appropriate distributions and avoid even a hint of self-dealing.\u00a0 In my experience, most successor trustees do just fine, especially when they are represented by a competent trust administration<\/a> attorney.\u00a0 But what if your successor trustee isn\u2019t up to the job?\u00a0 What if they “go rogue” when you\u2019re not there to do something about it?<\/p>\n

This is when incorporating a trust protector into your trust can really give you tremendous peace of mind.\u00a0 We include a trust protector in nearly every trust we draft (i.e., regardless of whether it’s a living trust<\/a> or a special needs trust<\/a>).<\/p>\n

The trust protector\u2019s primary job is to keep a careful eye on your successor trustee.\u00a0 The trust protector is usually given access to the trustee\u2019s books and records.\u00a0 They can even compel the trustee to provide an accounting or at least a summary of what\u2019s being done with trust assets.\u00a0 If the successor trustee is mismanaging funds, the trust protector can often terminate the trustee and, if the trust allows it, select a qualified replacement.<\/p>\n

Sometimes, we will even permit the trust protector to make important amendments to the trust.\u00a0 For example, the trust protector can correct so-called \u201cscrivener\u2019s errors,\u201d adjust the tax provisions of the trust to keep up with changes in the law, convert a general needs trust into a special needs trust (i.e., in case a typically achieving beneficiary becomes disabled), and ensure that any trust that receives retirement account benefits qualifies as a \u201cdesignated beneficiary\u201d under IRS rules.<\/p>\n

One of our favorite things to do with a trust protector is to involve them in the process of protecting our clients\u2019 estates from ever ending up in the hands of a beneficiary\u2019s creditors or former spouse.<\/p>\n

Of course, incorporating a trust protector is especially important when you have a beneficiary who is a minor or who has special needs.\u00a0 That\u2019s because a vulnerable beneficiary may not be able to ensure that their trustee is really doing the right thing, but their independent trust protector can.<\/p>\n

Consider the following example.<\/p>\n

Mary is elderly and would like to make sure that her son Adam, who has special needs, is cared for at home for as long a possible when she is gone. Mary establishes a special needs trust<\/a> that will hold her home for Adam’s benefit.\u00a0 She transfers enough money to the trust to make sure that the property is well kept and the bills are paid. Mary\u2019s next\u00a0closest relative, her niece Martha, does not want to serve as trustee of Adam’s trust because she does not want the added responsibility of managing the home. So Mary names John, a friend of hers who knows Adam and who runs a property management company, as the trustee instead. Although Mary trusts John, she decides to name Martha as a trust protector to review his yearly accounts, to make sure he charges the proper amount for his services, and to ensure that he keeps the property in good shape.<\/p>\n

If someone you know needs a trust that actually works when it\u2019s tested (i.e., even years after they pass away), please have them contact my office<\/a> at 916.273.9040.\u00a0 I\u2019d be glad to help them make the right decisions about trustees and trust protectors.\u00a0 It would be my pleasure to design a trust that fits their family and gives them meaningful peace of mind.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When you establish a trust, one of the biggest decisions you make is who will serve as trustee if you become ill or pass away. You must be able to rely on your successor trustee to follow your instructions, manage trust assets as a reasonably prudent person, make appropriate distributions and avoid even a hint of self-dealing. In my experience, most successor trustees do just fine, especially when they are represented by a competent trust administration attorney. But what if your successor trustee isn\u2019t up to the job? What if they go rogue when you\u2019re not there to do something about it? That’s when using a trust protector can really give you tremendous peace of mind.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1,5],"tags":[15,9,14,11],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wyattlegal.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wyattlegal.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wyattlegal.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wyattlegal.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wyattlegal.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=73"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/www.wyattlegal.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":138,"href":"https:\/\/www.wyattlegal.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73\/revisions\/138"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wyattlegal.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=73"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wyattlegal.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=73"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wyattlegal.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=73"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}