March 1, 2022
Every day, the trustee provides these services to the beneficiaries:
Asset management.
Personal portfolio management is not the same as trust management. The trustee must balance the needs of current beneficiaries against the interest of the future beneficiaries—both must be satisfied. An understanding of the purposes of the trust is vital to shaping an investment policy for it. And when the investment plan is designed, it needs to take a long-term approach, one that is matched to the expected life of the trust itself.
Trust administration.
There are a great many routine-sounding chores that are, in fact, vital to the smooth operation of a trust. Your trustee will need to title and safe- guard trust assets properly, collect trust income, and disburse or invest collected income in accordance with the directions in the trust document.
Tax and accounting services.
The trustee needs to keep detailed, accurate records of the trust assets and transactions. Tax returns will need to be filed. Regular reports must be provided to the beneficiaries.
Make impartial decisions. Very often a trust will provide for the dis- tribution of principal in certain specified circumstances, such as a medical emergency or other unexpected financial need. The trustee has to decide if those conditions have been met. One beneficiary or another may ask for an invasion of the trust, and the trustee must decide whether the request is reason- able and within the spirit of the trust. “Grandfather would have wanted me to have a Teslas” is not likely to be received favorably by most trustees.
