Planning for your money and property after your demise is not an exciting thing to do. It raises feelings of fear and anxiety. Nevertheless, it is an essential process we all must undergo. You must determine how your assets are shared after you pass. A vital aspect in this process is choosing who acts as your trustee—the person or body assigned to manage, invest, and hand out monies and properties owned by the trust. A majority usually consider trusted friends and family members for this critical role. However, this sometimes turns out to be a poor decision. In some instances, corporate trustees may be best at managing your assets after your demise or impairment.
The obligations and roles of the trustee are specifically time-consuming and require specific specialized skills. For example, trustees need to manage the trust’s money and property, execute to the latter the instructions listed in the trust agreement, settle bills linked with the various assets, and keep complete and accurate records of all the transactions. These processes are naturally time-consuming without considering the more complex asset types. It is common to see business management, property monitoring in multiple states, and monitoring unique accounts and property like art collections and stock portfolios included in trustee roles. Family members and friends may lack the necessary knowledge to embark on such vital and elaborate tasks.
How do you know what corporate trustee is best for you? Well, here are a few points to consider when choosing a corporate trustee.
Minimum Trust Account Requirements
Many corporate trustees own a wide range of minimum amounts thresholds for accounts. It ranges from $0 to $1 million and is dependent on the institution. There are also some cases where the minimum amounts vary depending on the account or property’s size. You must be aware of the trust’s accounts and property value to evaluate each institution adequately.
Recordkeeping and Reporting
For accounting purposes, trusts must maintain separate income and principal records, and they must annually file an income tax return at the IRS. For example, expert trustees at Trust Point report income, deductions, income accumulated or held for future distribution, gains and losses, income tax liability, and employment taxes paid from wages to household employees. Additionally, they handle multiple tax schedules that may be needed. Family members, friends, or other selected individuals may find this responsibility daunting and time-consuming. Any errors, omissions, and late filings carry heavy fines for the trustees and personal liability if the beneficiaries are negatively affected by false accounting.
Sufficient Experience
Experience in handling trusts with accounts and properties like yours is an essential qualification to consider. Some corporate trustees prefer not to take real estate. Trustees that feel this way will either turn down the appointment or may eventually liquidate the real estate and manage the transaction’s profits instead. Pay close attention to such details because they can readily impact what accounts or properties your beneficiaries may eventually have access to.
Cost
There’s a general narrative that institutions are costlier than individual trustees. This is false. Individual trustees have to hire other professionals. Individual trustees hire CPAs, Attorneys, custodians, and investment managers to assist with trust-related duties. When you incorporate the cost of the other respective services, you may end up paying more than the fees of a corporate trustee who has all the other professional services in-house. Often these fees are summed up as a whole. Additionally, consideration needs to be given to tax costs and state trust laws. The trustee residence may determine the governing law and the income taxation of a trust.
Effective Communication Between Trustees And Beneficiaries
It is vital to consider how effectively the trustee works with and communicates with beneficiaries. A common fear affiliated with corporate trustees is that they practice a more hands-off approach, resulting in a shortage of genuine care, but this is rarely the reality. Corporate trustees usually prioritize regular effective communication and are highly responsive to the needs of beneficiaries. Due to their professionalism as trustees, their job is to manage your trust and manage it optimally. Suppose you end up choosing a close friend or family member. In that case, that person is very likely to have priorities or biases that will most definitely interfere with the adequate management of your trust.
Lastly, an individual trustee could also die. In such an instance, the trustee’s estate would necessitate appointing a new representative. Before taking up the responsibility, the representative may request an account report to exonerate the trustee for their actions during their term of managing the trust. The new trustee may be advised to hold on till the exoneration happens before stepping into the position. In this period, the trust is left unattended. If the financial markets witness a shift during this period, there may be a costly setback in adjusting the trust portfolio. Such breaks are non-existent with corporate trustees since corporate trustees are always available and devote their time and focus to the expected duties and responsibilities of managing your trust. Unlike an individual trustee, a corporate trustee does not have vacations, predecease you, or experience other situations that make them unable to administer the trust.
