By: Barry E. Haimo, Esq.
August 15, 2017
Who are the Relevant Parties of a Trust?
When you create a trust to protect, grow, and distribute your assets, it involves a number of parties. These parties each perform different necessary roles and have individual responsibilities. In order for a trust to work the way it is supposed to, all of the relevant parties have to do their job.
So, who are the relevant parties of a trust?
Grantor
Also known in some cases as the Trustor, Settlor, or Donor, this title refers to the person, couple, or entity that owns the assets to be put into the trust. Any asset can be placed into a trust: antique items, art, investments, real estate, savings accounts, vehicles, and so on.
The Grantor is legally required to name a specific person or group of people who is to benefit from the assets held in the trust.
Beneficiary
A beneficiary is the person, people, or organizations who benefit from the assets held in the trust. The trust is primarily for his/her/their benefit and is managed by the trustee for that purpose and based on an elevated standard of care called “fiduciary duty”.
Trustee
These are the individuals or entities designated in the trust as being responsible for controlling the assets in the trust. Depending on the nature of the trust, trustees can have a lot of power over what is done with the assets. As mentioned above, they have a fiduciary duty to manage the assets in the estate for the benefit of the beneficiaries pursuant to the trust agreement at the risk of being personally liable for failing to do so.
For example, they could decide to loan artwork in the trust out to museums. Or they could rent out real estate. Their actions only need to show that they are acting in the best interest of the trust and attempting to grow the assets or otherwise consistent with the trust’s instructions.
Successor Trustee
For some trusts, the Grantor will name him or herself as Trustee while they are still alive. In these situations, the Trustees who take over after they pass away are called alternate or Successor Trustees.
A Successor Trustee could also be named in the event that the initial named Trustee is unable to fulfill their duties. In either situation, the role of the Successor Trustee is identical to the role of a regular Trustee.
Trust Protector
A Trust Protector’s job is to – you guessed it – protect the trust. Just some of the powers that a Trust Protector may have include:
- The ability to remove a trustee and have them replaced with someone else (not themselves).
- The power to amend the trust if there are changes in the law that would adversely affect it.
- The power to resolve disputes (between trustees if there are multiple people or entities acting as trustees, or between trustees and one or more of the beneficiaries).
- The ability to alter trust distributions if there are changes to a beneficiary’s life.
- The power to add new beneficiaries to the trust. (For example, if there are additional descendants.)
- The ability to veto investment decisions.
- The ability to provide oversight to a beneficiary who is also the trustee.
Trust protectors were originally used for tax purposes. Today, however, they are used in a variety of different trusts by people of varying socio-economic status. The one commonality is typically that these trusts are designed to be in effect over a long period of time; in Florida they can last up to 360 years! As a result, they absolutely MUST be properly drafted to be able to navigate a changing and unpredictable environment relating to taxes, law, family dynamic, and market fluctuations to name a few.
Author:
Barry E. Haimo, Esq.
Haimo Law
Strategic Planning With Purpose
Email: barry@haimolaw.com
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/bhaimo
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