Naming Multiple Fiduciaries in Your Estate Plan

Our clients often want to name multiple fiduciaries — trustees, agents, personal representatives, etc. — in their estate planning documents. We try to encourage them to just name one, or to name their children in sequence rather than making them co-fiduciaries. We are often unsuccessful. Clients might think they don’t want to show favoritism. Or they are adamant that their children get along well. Or they want to compel them to work together. We will prepare our clients’ documents with multiple fiduciaries if they really want. But our experience is that the arrangement is more likely to unsettle family dynamics and lead to conflict than to guarantee (or rely on) family harmony. And please don’t ask us to require all of the fiduciaries to act together — or even by a majority vote. That’s a guarantee of slower and more expensive administration, and a strong contributor to family fights.