All too often families suffer the painful experience of their trust not working. Tensions and contentions, fights— maybe strained family holiday dinners, perhaps cancelled altogether! Court?!
Here are the primary trustee troubles that can destroy a family:
- WORK OVERLOAD: The trustee has too much work with the detailed and comprehensive investment, custody, distribution, communication and other trustee tasks— not to mention the actual beneficiaries! This is either more than the trustee bargained for, or has just become too overwhelming.
- TOO COMPLEX: The niceties of trust administration— financial, fiduciary, and family empowerment and dynamics considerations— are beyond the trustee’s current expertise. Trust administration is both a science and an art, complete with a learning curve.
- NOT ENOUGH TIME: The trustee is already busy with his own life. The demands of the trustee’s job often consume lots of time and sometimes can’t be put off.
- LESS THAN APPRECIATIVE FAMILY: Many families no longer happily gather because of the family member trustee— even when that trustee did everything right! Money, family and mortality invoke powerful emotions that challenge family harmony.
Help is available for the troubled trustee. A professional trustee can help— especially one who is independent and offers a customized approach.
The professional trustee can ease the burden on the troubled trust by providing advice, coaching or back-office support— and, where appropriate and permitted, by serving as co-trustee or even as replacement trustee.
© 2012 – 2023 Daniel P. Felix, all rights reserved
