Allowing the trustees to act independently of each other could help speed up the administration process. In California, trust law dictates that co-trustees must act unanimously. However, if the trust document states that they can act independently, the trust will trump California trust law.
A trustee must abide by the trust document and the California Probate Code. They are prohibited from using trust assets for personal gain and must act in the best interest of the beneficiaries. Trust assets are meant for the benefit of the trust beneficiaries and not for the personal use of the trustee.
Even though some trusts do include provisions that allow co-trustees to act independently of one another, some financial institutions will not honor the language (or they make it very difficult). This can cause a lot of headaches for the co-trustees.
An independent trustee is an individual or entity who has no interest relating to the trust. So, an independent trustee cannot be a beneficiary of the trust, contributor to the trust, or relatives of the beneficiary or contributor, and so on.
Anyone 16 and over (18 for an Unincorporated Association or Charitable Trust) who is not 'disqualified' can be a Trustee. The reasons for disqualification were set down by the Charities Act 2011, and were designed to prevent people convicted of financial crimes, or who made serious financial errors, becoming trustees.
No, a trustee is almost never allowed to withdraw money from a trust account for personal use.
To act unanimously - Trustees must act unanimously unless the trust deed says otherwise. To act carefully and distribute assets correctly – for example, in a life interest trust, the trustees must distribute any income to the life tenant beneficiaries but still preserve the value of the capital for any remaindermen.
The short answer to this question, is maybe. It all depends on the terms of the trust deed. In particular, it will depend on whether the trustee falls within the definition of a 'beneficiary' of the trust. It will also depend on whether the trust deed specifically excludes the trustee from benefiting.
In contrast to the individual trustee, who is typically a family member, the independent trustee focuses on making objective decisions without emotion, either as sole trustee or with a family member co-trustee.
Common Breaches of Trustee Duties in California. Too often, trustees breach their duties. Some of the most common ways they do this include breaches of trust, funds misappropriation, poor management, fraudulent acts, failure to act, and engagement with a competitor.
This is a fundamental concept of trust law: the separation of legal and equitable title. In other words, while the trustee has the legal authority to manage and control the assets, they do so not for their own benefit, but for the beneficiaries.
A A Trustee is disqualified 'as Trustee' upon his death, loss of his legal competence, removal from trusteeship, liquidation, rescinding his licence or declaring his bankruptcy. The Trust shall then be transferred to the other Trustees in case of multiple Trustees, unless the Trust Instrument provides otherwise.
An owner is permitted to attend a Trustees meeting – they can speak but do not have a vote at that meeting.
Georgia colonists complained the most, however, about three of the trustees' regulations: (1) restrictions on land ownership and inheritance, (2) a ban on slavery, and (3) prohibitions on rum and other hard liquors.
Trustee: Trustees often have more ongoing authority, especially in the case of living trusts or long-term trusts. They may manage and distribute assets over many years, depending on the terms of the trust.
Serving as the trustee of a trust instills a person with significant power. They have access to all the trust assets, but with a catch: They can only use those assets to carry out the instructions of the trust.
The ability of a beneficiary to withdraw money from a trust depends on the trust's specific terms. Some trusts allow beneficiaries to receive regular distributions or access funds under certain conditions, such as reaching a specific age or achieving a milestone.
Resolving Problems Among Co-Trustees
The trustees may agree to ask the court for instructions, or one trustee may appeal to the court to prevent the other trustee from acting. If disagreements happen frequently, one trustee may resign, or one may petition the probate court for removal of the other trustee.
Discretionary trust distributions are unique because they are the only type of trust distribution in which the trustee has the authority to decide which beneficiaries among a group of predetermined beneficiaries will inherit, how much they will inherit, when they will inherit, and whether they will inherit from the ...
This process can either be carried out by the other trustees, or by the members. If you don't have a process set out in your governing documents, you may be able to refer to the Trustees Act (section 36). This section has provisions for removing and replacing trustees. Read the Trustees Act section 36.
Failing to properly invest trust funds, engaging in self-dealing, and preferring one beneficiary over the other beneficiaries are the more frequent ways a trustee mismanages a trust or breaches his or her fiduciary duty.
They have a right to perform a full audit of your accounts or check them any time it is necessary.
Under California law, embezzling trust funds or property valued at $950 or less is a misdemeanor offense and is punishable by up to 6 months in county jail. If a trustee embezzles more than $950 from the trust, they can be charged with felony embezzlement, which carries a sentence of up to 3 years in jail.