A newly appointed trustee managing a strategy created by the grantor of a trust will likely have many questions about how to effectively carry out this role. Understanding the role that is required of a fiduciary acting as a trustee is important and the new trustee must quickly become familiar with what is expected of them.
There are certain standards required when it comes to the fiduciary’s management of trust assets and in some cases, this responsibility can last for decades.
This responsibility being suddenly and unexpectedly pushed upon a trustee can be problematic from the trustee’s perspective. The trustee is allowed to retain competent professionals to help them with the administration of a trust. In fact, the hiring of competent professionals can even be viewed as a fiduciary duty imposed upon a certain trustee. However, the trustee cannot just simply hire others and outsource the responsibility and thus ignore the needs of the trust.
It is important to balance the involvement of professionals and to supervise them carefully. Many trust instruments will enable the trustee to hire professionals at the expense of the trust. Additionally, the law also grants the trustee this discretion even if such a right is not specifically granted in the trust.
Reasonable fees for experts and professionals supporting the trustee with the trust administration are usually accepted. You will want to consult with a talented Michigan estate planning lawyer before deciding who to appoint in the role of trustee on your trust. The reason for this is to empower this person to understand their role and to give them the opportunity to ask questions sooner rather than later.