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Successor Trustee Next Steps

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mxw1090

Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? WA

My mother, set up a Trust in WA, naming me as Successor Trustee. She has passed away with the mainly farmland owned by the trust. The name of the trust indicated a Family Trust with her as the trustee. I'm not sure if that makes a difference. My first question is am I now the Trustee of the Trust or will I always be designated as the Successor Trustee? My mother's will indicated I am the successor Trustee, but if I am unable to, secondary successor trustees were specified. If I set up a will that indicates my adult son to be successor trustee, will he then be successor trustee of the family trust upon my death or will the secondary successors my mother specified be trustee?

I have more questions but answers the first few will help me determine my next direction.

Thank you in advance for any assistance.
 


tranquility

Senior Member
A will cannot designate the trustee. Only the trust can. If, under the terms of the trust, you accept the job of trustee, you are now the trustee.
 

curb1

Senior Member
What is the language in the trust for terminating the trust? You might distribute the assets and terminate the trust. Keeping the trust in place will require annual accounting and tax issues.
 

TrustUser

Senior Member
if you dont accept, then it usually goes down the line of secondary successor trustees.

if no one accepts, then there should be language in the trust to specify how to pick a trustee. as was noted, a will has nothing to do with the trust.

you would be the trustee, but you are also considered to be a successor as opposed to the original trustee.

this could come into play should the trust document put restrictions on successors that it did not on the original.

generally, when a person makes a living trust, and he is also the trustee, he does not want any limitations on himself. but he might on successors.
 

Kiawah

Senior Member
The way I understand your question, you are asking if by you accepting the position as successor trustee, when you die can you designate your son as the next trustee.....superseding the original trust instructions which has picked someone else.

The answer to that is no, the original trust document specifies who the successive trustees will be.
 

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