Trustees of Deceased Estates
Your trustees are those who are entrusted with holding part or all of your estate (pursuant to your Will) on trust for a period of time before distribution to a beneficiary.
Usually your executors and trustees will be the same people.
If a beneficiary is of full age and capacity, the trust will only exist during the time of the administration of the estate and the trust will terminate once there is a distribution to the beneficiary. (Adinistration is that time between death and distribution of the estate).
The most usual occasion where a longer-term trust arises is where a minor (that is, a person under the age of 18 years) is a beneficiary under your estate.
Some factors to consider in choosing trustees:
- Their ability to manage money
- Their relationship with any guardians of infant children you are appointing. The guardians will need to have trustee approval to access parts of your estate for the education, maintenance and advancement in life of minors.
- The degree of decision making power that they have. Are they only have power of distribute income to minor beneficiaries or also to dip into capital if they decide its necessary?
Consider appointing joint trustees. This has two advantages:
- If one is unable to act there is still one trustee
- They both must agree before property is applied for a minor beneficiary.
Our Advanced Will has detailed Trustee Powers to give trustees to power they need to administer an estate cost effectively.
More resources:
www.onlinelegal.com.au