If you’re looking to avoid having your estate go to probate upon your death in Hennepin, then a revocable living trust may be the way to go. As long as you are alive, you are fine to leave yourself as the trustee. Yet given that one of the main purposes of the trust is to be able to have control over your assets after your death, you will inevitably need to name another trustee at some point.
When considering who to name as your trustee, you will want to take into account the roles and responsibilities of a trustee as required by Minnesota state law. Those are clearly defined in The Minnesota Trustee’s Powers Act. They include:
- Following all of the instructions that you include in the trust document.
- Managing trust assets wisely until their disbursement.
- Keeping his or her own personal assets separate from those of the trust.
- Maintaining accurate records of all transactions related to the trust.
- Treating all trust beneficiaries fairly.
Given these duties, you may want to give extra consideration to one has some knowledge of or experience with legal proceedings or finance management, or who has displayed a proficiency for record keeping. Also, you may want to consider the potential for tension between members of your family should you name a certain one of them as your trustee.
Many estate planning experts recommend naming a primary and secondary trustee. This allows the primary trustee to pass on certain duties if he or she is unable to execute them. This also lets you keep one trustee within your family while also naming a friend or colleague as another, should you so choose.
This information should not be taken as legal counsel. However, it may make the process of executing your trust much easier.