What is the difference between and executor and a trustee named in a will?
While an executor and a trustee named in a will may be the same person, their objectives are different. The executor’s responsibilities should be short term. The executor should be concerned primarily with settling the estate. The trustee’s duties are generally long term. The trustee is responsible for investing the trust assets and determining the distributions to be made to the trust’s beneficiaries. A trust may terminate upon the occurrence of an event described in the will (such as the beneficiary reaching a certain age), or may continue for the life of the beneficiary or beneficiaries.
