Is a Trustee Required for a Deed of Trust?
A trust deed is a legal document involving a grantor, or a person who sets up a trust, a trustee, the person who manages a trust after a grantor's death, and a beneficiary, a person who benefits from a trust. For a trust deed to be effective, a grantor must appoint a trustee.
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Identification
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When a trust is created, the trustee is usually the same individual as the grantor, according to the Estate Planning Links website. By appointing himself as trustee of the trust, a trust grantor can manage the trust while he is alive. A married couple, for example, may appoint themselves as co-trustees and a trusted friend as the successor trustee of the trust. This person will manage the trust after the trust grantors' death.
Trustee Duties
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A trustee performs a variety of duties on behalf of a trust grantor. For example, a trustee must administer a trust after a grantor's death. The administration of a trust requires a trustee to give written notice of administration upon the grantor's death, identify and collect trust property, bring a return on trust assets, have trust property appraised by a certified appraiser, file state and federal tax returns, and allocate trust property while minimizing taxes for the beneficiaries of the trust.
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Record-Keeping
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The trustee must maintain permanent records. For example, amendments to a living trust and restatements for changes to a larger living trust must be attached to an original trust document and kept in a trust portfolio for safekeeping. If a trustee needs to be replaced, he must place the supplemental instructions provided by the trust grantor in the trust portfolio for the new trustee to view.
Bill Paying
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The trustee of a trust is responsible for paying any bills or expenses incurred by the trust from the trust's bank account. The trustee must also document the rate of compensation she is owed as trustee as well as the amounts paid to estate attorneys, accountants and financial advisers hired to act on behalf of the trust.
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