The Corporate Trustee

In many cases, someone creating a trust may have designated a bank or other professional company to serve as the trustee of a trust.  These corporate trustees are fiduciaries just like the individual trustees, and they have many of the same duties that the individual trustees have.  However, because corporate fiduciaries are in the business of providing these services, they arguably have higher duties than a non-professional individual who serves as a trustee.

In the estate, trust, and guardianship context, many corporate trustees report not only to the beneficiaries of the trust but also to a court that is overseeing the estate or the guardianship.  In those cases, the corporate trustee has additional duties imposed by the Court, which may involve routine accountings to the court, seeking approval from the court to make certain expenses, and other tasks expected of a particular court.

The Estate and Trust Administration attorneys at Ford + Bergner LLP routinely advise corporate trustees on the appropriate manner to discharge their duties as trustees. This frequently involves preparing accountings to the beneficiaries or the court, advising on routine administration issues as they arise, and working as an intermediary with beneficiaries to ensure that the corporate trustee is discharging its duties correctly.

For more information about this matter, call 713-352-0937 or send an email.