Fire at will:

One of the most important (if not THE most important) considerations in estate planning is: how to select trustees.

Compounding this concern is the new need for trust protectors (no, they are not the same) — how do you select them? can, or should, you select them?

We’ll focus on this topic at our next Family Protection Clinic (aka estate planning seminar) lunch meeting on Tuesday, January 16, 2018. (If you miss the cutoff, we’ll focus again on this topic on April 3, 2018. Our weekly seminar revolves through about a dozen focus topics, then opens up to general discussion.)

In addition to getting valuable voucher for free handgun training at the world’s largest shooting school (details here) and satisfying the prereq for our free California concealed carry class (details here), you’ll be able to discuss the following issues with friends, family, and neighbors:

How many trustees should you have?
Should your kid be a trustee? other family members?
How will you handle indemnification if they blow it? Should trustees be compensated and obtain their own insurance, even if related?
How should trustees be removed?
What qualifications make for a good successor trustee? how are these affected by other factors like type of assets, family situation?
What are the advantages and disadvantages of using a corporate trustee?
Should you give others the power to name successor trustees?
What the heck is a trust protector and what can they do? what should they do, for different situations and planning goals?
How does a trust protector benefit an estate, and how does it differ from a trustee?
Should you name a committee as trust protector?
Because California will likely treat trust protectors as fiduciaries sharing joint and several liability with trustees, and trustees may balk at serving under those circumstances, should you avoid naming a trust protector now, and simply set up a procedure for naming one later when situs can be changed?
Should a trust protector have trustee-like powers?
Should a trust protector be held to a fiduciary standard for all powers? only for some?
How might certain trust protector powers create conflict with trustees and beneficiaries?
Could certain trust protector powers actually thwart, rather than preserve, settlors’ intent?
How should succession of trust protectors be handled?
How are trust protectors to be compensated? indemnified? should another party confirm fees?
Should a trust protector be individual or corporate?
What are the qualifications for a trust protector generally? from a tax standpoint (i.e., preventing estate inclusion)? asset protection?