I'm already the 1st successor on her trust, but my brothers and I were thinking that it would be more beneficial to her if I was a trustee and could do everything for her as her needs arose? Good or bad idea?
The better thing to do is to have her resign from the trust completely and you take over as the Trustee while she remains the Guarantor or beneficiary of the trust.
My folks resigned from their trust and handed it over to me when my dad was diagnosed with cancer. He was perfectly capable of handling their finances up until that point, but he was given a short time to live and my mother already had some dementia. She was competent enough to sign the papers to resign, although I suppose technically she probably wasn't able to understand. However, the attorney knew our family well and felt comfortable that I wasn't trying to persuade them to do that. He was the one who suggested it in the first place.
It was a godsend for me to be able to take over before my dad passed, because we were able to go to his investment advisers and his bank where he could tell them that yes, he'd authorized me to take over all their affairs. He was also able to answer any questions I had about things, and it took all the worry off him about having to care for my mother and be the strong one.
If your mom is competent to resign from her trust and she trusts you to work for her best interests, I'd recommend having her resign. Talk to a trust and estate attorney who will handle it for you.
My folks resigned from their trust and handed it over to me when my dad was diagnosed with cancer. He was perfectly capable of handling their finances up until that point, but he was given a short time to live and my mother already had some dementia. She was competent enough to sign the papers to resign, although I suppose technically she probably wasn't able to understand. However, the attorney knew our family well and felt comfortable that I wasn't trying to persuade them to do that. He was the one who suggested it in the first place.
It was a godsend for me to be able to take over before my dad passed, because we were able to go to his investment advisers and his bank where he could tell them that yes, he'd authorized me to take over all their affairs. He was also able to answer any questions I had about things, and it took all the worry off him about having to care for my mother and be the strong one.
If your mom is competent to resign from her trust and she trusts you to work for her best interests, I'd recommend having her resign. Talk to a trust and estate attorney who will handle it for you.