What Qualities Should I Look for in a Trustee?

A trust is the most biblical form of leaving an inheritance if you can find an an intelligent, selfless, and protective yet peaceful and morally pure leader in your family to provide for your beneficiaries as trustee. A trust requires a trustee, a manager of property that is placed in a trust, to use reasonable care, skill, and caution to prudently collect, control, protect, record, invest (in some states), and distribute that property and keep the beneficiaries informed of the status of that property. Similarly, the Mosaic Law expected a firstborn son to, like a trustee, use his superior health and intelligence to use the “double portion” of the inheritance that he received to financially provide for his mother and any unmarried female siblings that he had when his father died, but the Mosaic law also expected firstborn sons to lead their families with purity and peace.

Deuteronomy, the fifth book of the Mosaic Law in the Old Testament, commanded that the firstborn son was to receive an inheritance that was twice as large as the inheritance that each subsequently born child received from his or her father’s half of the estate. Firstborn sons received twice as much as their siblings and children because the firstborn son was the first of [his father’s] physical strength and vitality, which could have made firstborn sons healthier, smarter children. Ancient culture expected a firstborn son to use his superior health, his superior intelligence, and his double portion of his father’s half of the estate to lead, protect, and financially provide for his mother and his unmarried sisters upon his father’s death. However, the Old Testament says that some firstborn sons lost this responsibility and privilege by committing acts of violence or sexual immorality.

In conclusion, even though a trust keeps your estate private and, usually, gets the inheritance to the beneficiaries faster by avoiding probate, you should manage and pass your assets through a trust only if there is an intelligent, selfless, and protective yet peaceful and morally pure leader in your family who treats people, material possessions, and financial resources with the respect that they deserve and invests those financial resources. When there is no person in your family who stands out to you as having those qualities, a last will and testament (commonly referred to as a “will”) is more appropriate. You can hire a non-relative to serve as trustee, but trustee fees can be at least five percent of the total value of your estate. However, hiring a non-relative trustee may be worth the fees if any of your beneficiaries have indicated that he or she may squander his or her inheritance or the inheritance of any other of your beneficiaries. If you hire a non-relative to serve as your trustee, try to hire someone with the qualities that are suggested in this blog post.

To speak with Hartis Law about whether a trust or will is right for you, call or text (864)-477-9444 or email anna.hartis@pm.me.