Choosing the Right Trustee

Trust, as Important as it is, is Not Enough.

You may set up a trust for several reasons. Whatever the reason for establishing your trust, you will need to name a trustee. As a start, you will want to choose a trustee that understands your goals and has the capability to follow your instructions to the letter.

The duties of a Trustee command the utmost trust and confidence. Literally, your trustee should be someone you trust. Certainly, there maybe one or two people who spring to mind in that regard.

But trust is only one aspect in making your choice of trustee. To understand fully what you should expect from your trustee, you need a firm understanding of the wide-ranging and complex duties that your trustee will undertake.

 


 

Our Qualities to Serve You as Your Trustee

Although an individual may have many of the necessary qualifications to serve as a trustee, few, if any, have all the necessary credentials. Everything that you need in a trustee, however, exists within our bank and within the minds and hearts of our staff.

Experience

We employ a highly trained staff with years of experience, people who are sensitive to the needs of their clients and others with whom they work.

Impartiality

Sometimes family interests’ conflict. You will not have to worry that we might favor one beneficiary over another. We recognize that in our role as trustee, it is our responsibility to attempt to resolve conflicts without taking sides.

Availability

Delays in the administration of your trust may have detrimental or unexpected consequences. An individual trustee may die, go on extended vacations, encounter family obligations, or become incompetent. We are always near at hand.

Accountability

Our actions are subject to periodic reviews by independent auditors and examiners.

Service, in a Variety of Capacities 

In addition, we offer our clients flexibility in how we may serve as their trustee.

Service as a co-trustee.

If there is a family member or someone else who you feel is important to name as trustee, but who you believe could benefit from our expertise and experience, you can name us to serve as co-trustee with that individual. We will work together with him or her to administer your trust exactly as set out in the trust agreement.

Service as a successor trustee. 

If your trust has been established to provide support for your loved ones over a long period of time, you may want to name a trustee to serve if the person you have named dies or is no longer able to serve. When you name us as your successor trustee, you have the peace of mind of knowing that we will be available when the time comes to take on the mantle of service.

Service as an agent for your trustee. 

If you are naming only one individual to serve as trustee but believe that he or she could find the responsibilities too difficult to execute without assistance, you can recommend to the person that we serve as his or her agent. If they ask us to serve in that capacity, we can lift the burden of much of the investment management and administrative tasks by acting on their behalf, and only to the extent that they authorize us to act. And, of course, if you have been named to serve as trustee and would like some “backup,” we would be glad to lift the burden from your shoulders.

 

 


We are What You Seek in a Trustee

Thanks to the expertise and experience of our staff, we have established an outstanding reputation as a professional trustee.

We offer our clients services of the highest quality, delivered with tact, sensitivity, and impartiality. Our commitment to our clients is absolute. We give them direct access to their trustee, rather than send them to impersonal, automated phone lines. Above all, we want you to be comfortable with our services.

Email us at wealthmgmt@lakeridge.bank or call (608) 826-3570 for information about how you can benefit from our Wealth Management Division’s full range of trustee and other fiduciary services. Or come and see us at our Bridge Road location at 6430 Bridge Road.

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