The Benefits of Working with a Professional Trustee in Orange County

“If your estate involves a California-based trust, real estate, significant liquid assets, or a family that doesn’t always see eye-to-eye, you need a professional trustee. Consider it an essential safeguard for your legacy.”
~ Kevin Singer, Professional Trustee & Founder of The Trustees Group

• A Professional Trustee: Planning for the Future
• What Does a Professional Trustee Do?
• A Professional Trustee: Avoiding Family Stress
• A Professional Trustee: Expertise Where It Counts
• A Professional Trustee: The Right Decision
• Contact The Trustees Group

A Professional Trustee: Planning for the Future

When it comes to planning for the future, many families rely on family trusts to hold the assets accumulated over generations. If you and your family have worked hard to build and maintain a successful life, you want to make sure your home, businesses, and investments are protected for years to come. This is where a Professional Trustee in Orange County becomes a vital part of your team. While many people think about asking a family member or a close friend to manage their trust, choosing a professional trustee can make a world of difference in keeping things running smoothly.

What Does a Professional Trustee Do?

A professional trustee is the person or team responsible for adhering to the directives set forth in the trust documents by the settlor of the trust. This is also known as trust compliance. Trust compliance is the cornerstone on which a professional trustee’s duties are built.

As professional trustees, when considering decisions related to the assets of the trust, we use the trust’s original documents to guide us; we are conservative in our decisions. Our goal is to act in such a way that we honor the intentions of the trust settlor.

This relates to more than just bank accounts. Many trusts include instructions for managing real estate, overseeing complicated business contracts, and keeping track of insurance and investments. The professionals of The Trustees Group offer you peace of mind, knowing we will carry out directives of the trust exactly as they were written.

A Professional Trustee: Avoiding Family Stress

One of the biggest benefits of hiring a professional trustee in Orange County is that it helps maintain healthy family relationships. Dealing with money, property, and businesses after a loved one passes can be very emotional. If one family member, acting as trustee, is put in charge of the others, it can lead to arguments, hurt feelings, or estrangement. A professional trustee, by design, acts as a neutral third party with regard to fulfilling the intentions of the trust. By following what is specified in the trust, the professional trustee is able to ensure all beneficiaries of the trust are treated in accordance to the specific plan put forth by the creator of the trust.

A Professional Trustee: Expertise Where It Counts

Managing the assets in trust of an affluent estate requires substantial technical knowledge and experience. A professional trustee must have the expertise to handle:

• Business Operations: Maintaining and improving a family business without interruption.
• Real Estate: Managing all aspects of real estate portfolios from acquisition, property taxes, maintenance, and sales.
• Investments: Ensuring funds are growing and protected from market shifts.
• Philanthropy: Making sure donations and benefaction continue throughout the lifetime of the trust.

Many family members don’t have the time nor the training to oversee all of these components simultaneously. By engaging the right professional trustee, you ensure that all holdings of the trust are managed with the highest level of care and skill.

A Professional Trustee: The Right Decision

Naming the successor trustee over a family trust can be a difficult decision. Life is unpredictable. If you name a family member or family friend as a successor trustee, there are multiple possibilities that could impact their reliability. They could become ill, they could move away, they could become too busy to help, or they could simply lack the skill and expertise to fulfill the intent of the trust settlor.

That’s why a professional trustee may be a better choice. When you work with a professional team, you’re working with people who are reliable and experienced in trust administration. There is always someone available to oversee the administration of the trust. A professional trustee manages all the details and minutiae so you can enjoy your life and not worry about tasks that need to get done.

Once you make the decision to work with a professional trustee in Orange County, you can relax. The legacy that was established when the trust was created is in the hands of people who understand the value of the vision, whether it’s protecting real property and businesses or ensuring established philanthropy continues. Our goal is to honor the hard work and wishes of the trust’s settlor and provide your family with a clear, stress-free path forward.

Contact The Trustees Group

Engaging a professional trustee to manage your family trust helps to ensure that your life’s work is not only preserved but handled with the professional dignity it deserves.

For more information about the professional trustees at The Trustees Group or to engage The Trustees Group, use our Trustee Contact Form or call Mr. Singer directly at: 310.552.5315.