Q: Do co-successor trustees have full control over where proceeds from a home sale are deposited/distributed?
I am a co-successor trustee with one of my siblings, for my parents trust. They both have passed. We are going to sell their house, which is in the trust. Do we two, as the successor trustees, have the sole discretion on how the house proceeds get deposited and/or distributed? Or, does a third sibling and equal beneficiary have a say in the matter, since he/she is also a beneficiary of a three-way split of the proceeds? This may only relevant if the time comes that, for some reason, we need to retain those proceeds for some period of time, but it would still be good to know. Hope that makes sense. Thanks!
A: In general, the trustees, not the beneficiaries, decide how to administer the trust, including the making pf decisions such as where the trust funds are deposited.
A:
Hi there - No, a trustee's role and job is to follow the instructions within the trust. In most revocable trusts, the trust document itself will state who gets what after the grantor (creator of the trust) passes away.
In short: see what the trust says! You should check with an elder law or estate planning attorney to review with you.
I hope this helps!
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