So, your favorite uncle has just asked you to be the trustee for the trust he’s setting up for his adult children. His kids have had their issues over the years – his son has a serious substance abuse problem and his daughter has had difficulty staying employed and has filed several bankruptcy cases. It seems like you’re the only responsible person in the younger generation that he can trust, so he wants you to look after the nest egg he’s worked hard to build for his children and grandchildren over the years. You have a bachelor’s and master’s degree in education from a good state school and by all accounts have had a successful career as a principal at a local high school. You’ve always been “good with money” and have provided well for your family and you certainly don’t want to let your uncle down. So, you’ve agreed to be his trustee. Problem is, you don’t know the first thing to do as the trustee. What the heck exactly is a trust anyway, besides something that wealthy people put their money into? What kind of a trust is it, are they all the same? How often and under what circumstances can you give money from the trust to your two ne’er-do-well cousins? Do you have to pay taxes on behalf of the trust, or does your uncle have accountants that pay for it all? What if your uncle wants to make changes to the terms of trust 5 years into it?
These are just some of the real life issues that face trustees in the difficult world of trust administration, which is why you need the Private Trust Consortium to help guide and protect you on your journey as a trustee. PTC will provide you with the knowledge to help you make good decisions that will mitigate, and perhaps even eliminate, the risks faced by you as trustee and the trust.
PTC’s Onboarding Report will provide you with a unique analysis of the terms of your trust, assessing the risk factors present therein and providing you with suggested best practices to mitigate such risks. In addition, PTC offers an exclusive fiduciary insurance product which will protect both the trust and the trustee. This is particularly important, because most malpractice insurance policies do not cover a trustee’s errors and omissions in his/her fiduciary role as trustee. In addition, in the absence of this insurance, the trustee may have to front his/her attorney fees and costs in the event of a lawsuit brought by beneficiaries or third parties until the litigation is resolved and the trustee is finally reimbursed from trust funds via the indemnity clause in the trust documents. With fiduciary insurance, the trustee won’t be left holding the proverbial bag and will be able to make an insurance claim, which if accepted will result in the insurance company assuming and paying for the defense of the trustee.