Preservation | Family Wealth Protection & Planning

A trustee is responsible for administering a trust for the benefit of the beneficiary or beneficiaries. Unless the beneficiary is also a trustee, he or she will not have direct access to information regarding the investments, debts, liabilities, expenses, receipts and other financial arrangements of the trust. Without a mechanism for learning this information, the beneficiary might worry that assets will run out, the trustee might misuse funds, or another problem will occur. Therefore, Missouri law, and the law of those states that have adopted similar provisions from the Uniform Trust Code (UTC), provides that a trustee must provide specific information and an annual report to certain beneficiaries so their interests may be protected.

It is common for clients to have established a long-lasting relationship with one or more investment advisors over their lifetime. This relationship is so strong that in their eventual demise, they would like for the advisor to continue to provide services for the client’s assets that may be held in trust for successive generations. However, at the same time, the client may recognize that the most appropriate person to make decisions with respect to distributions, and matters other than investment decisions, is a corporate trustee. Commonly, the investment advisor cannot serve as trustee even if naming an individual is desirable.

One of the many memorable scenes from the movie classic “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” takes place when Ferris and his friends drop off a Ferrari in a downtown Chicago parking garage. In the scene, Cameron doesn’t trust the car’s safety with the parking attendant, who says to them somewhat indignantly, “Relax … you fellas have nothing to worry about. I’m a professional.” The screen then cuts to the parking attendant and his buddy zooming off in the Ferrari as Ferris and the group go on their way.