Placing Restrictions on Your Trustee

When you sign a trust, you probably have a vision of how the trustee will operate. Will they continue to utilize your trusted advisors? Liquidate all your carefully-selected assets? Understand your intentions regarding distributions to your beneficiaries? You might place restrictions on your trustee to make sure they behave in accordance with your vision. Much of the value of a trust is to carry forward your wishes. The trust can be a terrific tool for doing just that. But wait a minute — you need to balance the need for flexibility with the desire to control the trust’s administration. The problem is commonplace: can you rely on the general law governing trust administration, or do you want to place specific restrictions on your trustee’s discretion? A trustee’s job is complicated, and there are plenty of opportunities for missteps. Limits on the trustee’s discretion can make the job more difficult. Join our podcast discussion about whether it makes sense to put restrictions on your trustee.