How to Remove a Trustee Off an Account

For a range of reasons, a beneficiary may wish to remove a trustee from an estate. Removal of the trustee may be warranted if the trustee is managing the account poorly or inappropriately, the trustee has become unable to manage the account due to illness, or the beneficiary has reached the age of 18. If the trustee's removal is justified, a court will likely grant such a request.

Instructions

1. Read the trust. You are looking for a trust removal clause or an ancillary-fee agreement. The former gives the beneficiary the right to remove the trustee from the trust, and the ancillary-fee agreement specifically allows the beneficiary to remove the trustee if the trustee has made changes to the trust without the beneficiary's blessings. With trust removal clauses or ancillary-fee agreements, removing the trustee is relatively simple with the aid of a lawyer.

2. Consult the co-trustees, if any, for the removal of a particular trustee. In such a scenario, you can remove a trustee from a trust for two reasons. First, if the trustee has been abroad for more than 12 months. Second, if the trustee is unfit to serve as a trustee either through physical or mental illness or as a result of a conviction of a criminal offense.

3. Ask the trustee to remove himself from the trust if you are unable to remove him with the use of the court or the co-trustees. This method is common when the beneficiaries of a trustee reaches the age of 18. Some trustees may also voluntarily leave the trust if they are paid. If the trustee is a bank, it may charge 1 percent of the trust's value as a fee.

References

• Druces: How to Remove a Trustee
• The-Adviser.com; How Do I Remove a Trustee?; April 24, 2001
• Gilmore and Gilmore: Duties of Executor and Trustee