co-trustee. n. a trustee of a trust when there is more than one trustee serving at the same time, usually with the same powers and obligations. Occasionally a co-trustee may be a temporary fill-in, as when the original trustee is ill but recovers.

Can there be co trustees of a trust?

The person who makes decisions about the money or property in the revocable living trust is called the trustee. If there is more than one, they are co-trustees. A successor trustee may also be named and acts only if a trustee can no longer fulfill that role.

What are the responsibilities of a co-trustee?

Co-Trustee Responsibilities:

• Management of trust assets. This may include the opening and closing of bank accounts, investment of trust funds in stocks or other assets, and buying and selling of property.
• Filing all necessary tax returns.
• Distribution of assets to the beneficiaries.
• Cooperation with co-trustees.

  Can you have 2 trustees of a trust?

  When a grantor establishes a trust, a single trustee manages the trust’s assets on behalf of the named beneficiaries. However, there is no requirement for a trust to have only one trustee. When a grantor names multiple trustees, or co-trustees, they are responsible for co-managing the trust’s assets.

  What are the fiduciary duties of a trustee?

  Fiduciary Duties of a Trustee. The fiduciary duties of a trustee are to act in the best interest of the beneficiaries. Therefore, their responsibilities are to act within the following parameters: The assets that a trustee manages are not their own, and therefore a trustee will never mix their personal assets with the assets in the trust.

  What does it mean to be a co trustee of a trust?

  In addition, co-trustees must generally act cooperatively with each other, unless the trust explicitly grants certain duties to a single trustee. This means that each co-trustee must act with the full consent and knowledge of the other co-trustees.

  What happens if a co-trustee sits on the paperwork?

  If a co-trustee sat on the paperwork, the buyer walked and the trust remained unfunded with cash to help pay the tuition for the beneficiaries, the beneficiaries could have a claim against the lazy co-trustee could be personally liable for all interest from a student loan that they had to get because the trust money was not available.

  Who are the successor co trustees of a trust?

  I have reviewed many trusts that provided for multiple trustees serving together “co-trustees”. They will have language that states something like, “if at any time both grantors [trust-makers] are incapacitated or have died the successor co-trustees shall be “John Doe and Jane Doe”….”.