What Are The Responsibilities Of A Successor Trustee?
By: Robert J. Myers, Esquire The use of a revocable living trust allows the beneficiaries of a trust to receive the assets of a deceased trust settlor without requiring formal Probate Court approval. A named successor trustee in a trust document has certain responsibilities which should be performed in the administration of the trust. Some of the ordinary and necessary steps which a successor trustee should take in lawful and proper trust administration are: A. The trust document should be reviewed for legal sufficiency and interpretation as wellas each trust amendment; B. The implementation of the substitution of the successor trustee should beaccomplished; C. Interested persons concerning the administration of the trust should be served with the required notices in a proper and timely fashion; D. A successor trustee has a legal duty to protect, insure and manage trust assets and may have liability for the improper accomplishment of these legal duties; E. A successor trustee has an af
