What are the roles and responsibilities of the trustee of an estate?
What are the roles and responsibilities of the trustee of an estate? Assistant at Law Assistant at Parklin Law The role of a trustee is to administer the assets of one person (the estate's beneficiary) in accordance with that beneficiary's wishes. An estate might include property, investments, or insurance proceeds. A trust is typically set up for a beneficiary who cannot manage his or her own affairs due to age, physical disability, or mental incapacity. The trustee is authorized to make financial and health-care decisions for the beneficiary. The trustee also pays the beneficiary's bills, keeps track of property and investments owned by the trust, reports annually to the beneficiaries on the trust's finances and condition, and distributes assets from the trust as directed. The trustee must be legally capable of acting as an agent on behalf of another person. For example, someone who is serving as a trustee because they were named as such in a will may not be able to ...