It may take many hours of thought-provoking calculation to record your assets and liabilities, select your beneficiaries, and get your financial house in order. A person may spend a lot of thought and effort drafting an estate plan, but choosing a trustee or executor is often omitted.
An executor or trustee is responsible for enumerating, valuing, and listing all assets, compiling, paying, and filing taxes. Keeping accurate records, ensuring beneficiaries get their inheritances and more. Before appointing a trustee or executor, ensure they can commit the energy, time, and desire to learn and understand what they’re entering into.
Why is it wise to employ a trust company?
Selecting a trustee or executor could be a significant gesture of respect and trust. However, it can also be a massive obligation for someone not up to the position. This is why choosing an expert, like the corporate trustee, could be a great idea.
1. Expertise
The trustee you choose has a significant responsibility in the present as well as their future financial protection. A trustee’s primary duty is to manage the trust’s investments. The trustee should feel at ease making investments, analyzing distribution requests, and making other potentially tricky decisions.
It’s easy to see how a trusted friend or family member could feel overwhelmed by the task of governing a trust especially given the significance of staying up to date with ever-evolving and complex regulations governing trust administration. A corporate trustee like Alliance Trust company, who has experience in trust and investing, could be a great resource.
2. Liability
A trustee could be subject to personal liability for his actions performed in good faith and without malice. A dissatisfied donor can sue the trustee if the trustee is guilty of poor accounting practices, misused the assets, has an exciting conflict, made poor investment decisions, or failed to maximize the tax benefits for the beneficiary.
Corporate trustees can avoid this obligation, which is also covered by insurance. Corporate trustees with expertise in international trust services also have bookkeeping processes to ensure they correctly account for receipts and cashouts and submit reports to beneficiaries and tax authorities.
3. Objectivity
Sometimes, communication and interaction can be difficult and stressful, even within the most supportive families. A trustee who is a brother, parent, or friend might find it challenging to operate independently, even if the trust documents clearly state the trust’s purpose and provides guidelines.
In contrast, a corporate trustee benefits from the advantages of being impartial and able to make judgments without regard to personal opinions or family relations.
4. Service Consistency
A trustee might not be able to respond quickly to a beneficiary’s needs for various reasons, and the beneficiary has no recourse. For instance, when the trustee is not in the country or is not conveniently situated, it could be difficult to get a timely response to inquiries. If a trustee is sick or incompetent in their duties, consistency in service could be at risk.
A corporate trustee eliminates the possibility of a lapse in service by being available to you and dedicating all their time to running the trust. A corporate trustee expert in estate and trust planning will always be at hand to deal with trust issues, unlike an individual trustee who is away on vacation or dies.
5. Cost
Individual trustees are regarded as less expensive than institutions. In reality, the opposite is true. To fulfill their duties as trustees, people sometimes utilize the services of experts in areas such as accounting, law custodianship, and investment management. If these expenses are added to the trustee’s salary, you might be paying more than a corporate trustee with them in-house. These costs are often bundled.
Then there is the issue of trust legislation and taxes in each state. A trust’s income taxation and laws governing it can be affected by the trustee’s location of residence. Certain corporate trustees can help you avoid the payment of capital gains and income taxes by setting up their headquarters in a tax-free zone.
