Page 44 - Successor Trustee Handbook

Duty to account to the beneficiaries. The nature and timing of this
accounting will depend on the terms of the Trust, as well as state law. Usually,
this accounting will be required at least once annually, although it may be
subject to being waived by the beneficiaries in the interest of saving the time
and expense involved (which may essentially come out of their inheritance!).
The accounting should include all Trust receipts (whether income or principal),
expenses paid, and transactions (particularly purchases, sales, and opening
and closing of accounts). You can obtain professional assistance with this
accounting and the cost of this accounting typically can be paid from the
Trust. (For more details, see the Chapter, “Accounting to the Beneficiaries”).

Duty not to delegate improperly. As Trustee, you can delegate the carrying
out of certain tasks for which you clearly need qualified assistance, such as
the preparation of legal documents by an attorney, preparation of tax returns
by a CPA, and investment of Trust assets by a financial advisor. You may,
from time to time, also delegate daily administrative items, like writing checks
and managing real estate. However, even though you may delegate certain
tasks, you may not delegate your duties. In other words, you are always
ultimately responsible for properly hiring, supervising and monitoring those to
whom you delegate tasks, to be sure that they do the work correctly and in a
manner consistent with your duties as Trustee.

Duty to be sure that all Co-Trustees participate in the Trust
Administration and Duty to prevent any other Co-Trustee from
committing a breach of Trust.(If the Trust provides for Co-Trustees, in
other words some other person, bank or Trust company has been named
to act along with you): Although the Trust document may provide for one
Co-Trustee to delegate certain actions to another, such as the ability to sign
on transactions, or checks, this does not absolve the Co-Trustee who has
delegated the task from personal responsibility to be sure actions are taken
properly. In other words, you may be held liable for another Co-Trustee’s acts!
Therefore, any delegation between Co-Trustees should not be done lightly
and, if done, you should monitor periodically the actions of the Co-Trustee to
whom you have delegated. The Trust document and local law may need to be
consulted to determine whether all the Co-Trustees, or only a majority, must
agree upon and consent to certain actions. If any conflict arises between you
and a Co-Trustee, you may each need to seek independent legal counsel to
represent you and determine the most appropriate resolution process.

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