What it is: a person or institution responsible for managing and administering a trust for the benefit of its beneficiaries.
The legal standard matters: the trustee must follow the terms of the trust and act in the best interests of the beneficiaries. If a trustee is not acting properly, beneficiaries have options.
What the job requires: investing prudently, keeping trust and personal assets separate, accounting to beneficiaries, filing trust tax returns, and distributing per the terms. It’s fiduciary work with real liability.
Watch out for: a trustee who co-mingles funds, favors one beneficiary, or ignores the terms can be removed and surcharged. If you’re asked to be a trustee, know it’s a duty, not a honorary title. If you’re a beneficiary, you have the right to an accounting.