Pros And Cons Of The Successor Trustee

Since we spoke on Thursday, March 9, 2017, I have been working on various versions of the 2017 Amendment to the Family Trust (the "Trust"), a revocable living trust created on October 23, 1996, amended on October 29, 2008, and June 27, 2016.

If order to insure no disruption in the management of your Trust Estate, simultaneously avoid conflict, while assuring accountability, it will be advisable for you to pick your professional fiduciary before we amend your trust.

Initially, you instructed me to make the Successor Trustee the accountant, Mark. However, for various reasons, you changed your mind and instructed me to draft the amendment appointing Mary Sue as the Successor Trustee. Following Patty Sue’s visit, you asked me to change the Successor Trustee to appoint a professional fiduciary that you will select.

Given the current dynamics of the situation, I must suggest that it would be wise to wait to change the plan for the succession of Trustees until you have selected the professional fiduciary to serve as your Successor Trustee, as well as a suitable alternate.

There are positives and negatives involved when there are two fiduciaries with responsibility for carrying out the wishes expressed in an estate plan. The Successor Trustee, like the professional fiduciary, is a fiduciary and has a responsibility to make sure the directions in the trust are being fulfilled as you and Bobby directed. However, the Successor Trustee and the professional fiduciary might not be of the same opinion as to what is required or how it ought to be carried out. Conflict and disagreements might arise, especially where there is wide discretion as to how and estate plan ought to be