Prudent man rule

[DanaBins]

My mother is an income only beneficiary to a trust established by my stepfather. She is a resident of Florida.
I have been told the the money should be invested according to the "Prudent Man" rule. She, obviously, would like as much "income" as possible. In doing so, the growth of principal is effected. How is this typically handeld?

 

[loku]

Trustee standards

You are partially right about the “prudent man” rule. It is the prudent trustee under the circumstances rule. Another way to think about it is that you must make prudent investments, balancing return, growth, and risk according to your mother’s needs, while at the same time preserving and investing the assets for the long term beneficiary.

Lets put it another way, if you have a good degree of competence in investing, then you can handle this by using your competence. If you do not, then either get the advice of a competent professional investment advisor, or perhaps a bank, or other institution could be made the trustee.