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Should You Name Co-Trustees of a Trust?

In this Elder Law Minute, Wes Coulson explains why he isn’t a big fan of naming co-trustees of a trust.

Transcript:

Hi! I’m Wes Coulson from Dent-Coulson Elder Law, proudly serving clients throughout the St. Louis metropolitan area and beyond. I’d like to welcome you to our Elder Law and Estate Planning Minute. We do these to help educate people, give them some little tips, and especially to let them know the questions they need to ask, things that they’ve maybe not thought of. Our thought on that is that we can help you best if you realize the things that you need help and that we can help you with. So I hope you enjoy. Thanks!

One of the questions we get quite a bit, particularly with people who have two children is, should I name co-trustees of a trust? First, you certainly can, but let me tell you why I’m, not particularly, a big fan of it. I always tell people, well I start by asking this question, “okay, the two that you have in mind, how well do they get along?” If the answer is, “well, they get along great”, then I say, okay, well if you name one of them, whatever they do, the other one is probably going to be okay with, and they’ll talk to each other informally; even if they’re not formally co-trustees.

The flip side is, what if they disagree? They don’t have to be, like, fighting disagree; what if, the question is, say you’ve decided that the trust is going to sell a house, and you get an offer for $20,000 less than the purchase price and one says I think we should take it and the other says I don’t think we should. If they are going back and forth to settle that, the answer has been no because the offer has gone away.

If you do name co-trustees, you need to have something in place that is going to settle a tie vote other than winding up going to court to do it. So, just some things to think about if you’re thinking about naming co-trustees. Thanks!

Also looking for information about Medicaid and Asset Preservation? Visit these articles:

    • Do Living Trusts Protect Assets From Medicaid or VA Spend Down?
    • How an Asset Preservation Trust Protects Your Life Savings From Long-Term Care Costs
    • Why Do I Need an Asset Preservation Plan?

“Your Trusted Advisor on the Elder Care Journey”

Dent-Coulson Elder Law is dedicated to providing families in the St. Louis area with their Elder Law needs. Our practice areas include Asset Preservation Planning, Veterans Benefits, Medicaid Eligibility, Alzheimer’s Planning, Special Needs Planning, Estate Planning and more. We understand the financial challenges you may face as you and your loved ones grow older. At Dent-Coulson Elder Law, our clients’ well-being is our number one priority. For immediate help, call (618) 632-7000 (IL) or (314) 567-9292 (MO), or Contact Us and we will get in touch as soon as possible.

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774 Sunset Blvd Suite 200
O'Fallon, IL 62269
IL: (618) 632-7000
MO: (314) 567-9292

415 W. Virginia Ave.
Effingham, IL 62401
(217) 330-5500

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Front office building of Coulson Elder Law

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774 Sunset Blvd Suite 200
O'Fallon, IL 62269
IL: (618) 632-7000
MO: (314) 567-9292

415 W. Virginia Ave.
Effingham, IL 62401
(217) 330-5500

Fax: (618) 632-7333
Send us an email

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