I've heard so many horror stories of family members who are trustees, either walking away with the family pot of gold, or being shackled by their siblings because they sold mom's old car that no longer ran off the driveway. Seriously though, I'm wondering for myself, which would be better, I'm thinking attorney. Yes there would be fees, but it might be worth not having the grief otherwise. How does a trust work beginning to end with an attorney as your trustee? How are complaints dealt with and resolved for family members by the trustee when it's an attorney? Opinions and experiences please. I'm in MO.
When mom set it up she told us all. I was listed second, which was fine as at the time twisted exec was the one helping mom and familiar with her business. That was 25 years ago probably. The problem was I did not consider the level of influence that ts1 had on ts2. Sad.
They were so convinced I ended up in court with them. I paid my attorney fees. Mom paid theirs, the conservator and the guardian. To the tune of about 120k. Would an attorney as the trustee had saved money? Mom did not want to pay an attorney to manage the trust. She trusted ts2 to be fair. HAHAHA! Still in the works as she spends $550 a month for storage of fabrics that she has no idea what to do with.
My suggestion is choose someone you trust, but with oversight, quarterly reporting by trustee to a conservator or attorney. Never free reign, oversight will result in honesty and accountability.