Trustee?! Who and what are the responsibilities?

A Trustee is a Trust Corporation or a person chosen by you to carry out your instructions. As a Trustee, he has a fiduciary duty to act in the best interest of the Beneficiaries. This is achieved by fulfilling the terms of the Trust and governed by various laws and regulations, such as the Trustee Act 1949 and the Probate and Administration Act 1959.

The Trustee is the keeper of trust assets and acts as the implementer of terms of the Trust Deed for the Beneficiaries who shall enjoy the income generated from the Trust during the trust period and also the trust capital when the Trust ends.

Isn't a Will enough? Why is there a Trust is set up too?

If you have drawn up a Will, that is the first step. It may however not be enough. To complete your estate planning process, you may need to create a Trust. Why?

Do you know that trust is an extremely effective Estate Planning tool to protect your assets and to pass wealth to your heirs efficiently whilst maintaining privacy? You can continue to have control on how the assets are distributed even when you are no longer around.

A Trust is one of the most effective Financial planning tool to safeguard your assets for your loved ones. The Trust will contain specific instructions to manage, protect, preserve and distribute your assets. It will also outline the duties and responsibilities of the Trustee.

A Trust is where the creator of the Trust called the "Settlor" entrusts and transfers legal ownership of the assets to another person called the "Trustee" under a Trust Deed. The Trustee then acts for the benefit of the named Beneficiaries in the Trust Deed for a specified period of time.

A Trust which can be used in many ways to benefit your loved ones is generally set up with various objectives such as;

• distributing assets quickly and without the hassle of applying for Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration;
• staggering the distribution of money and assets over a specified period of time;
• preserving the accumulated assets from breakup and loss in value for the enjoyment of successive generations;
• risk management to protect your assets against claims by creditors;
• supporting various family members for objectives such as education, maintenance, retirement, medical and for handicapped children.