When drawing up your estate plans, you might find it useful to create a revocable or irrevocable trust, either of which can help your estate avoid probate court and give you significant control over how and when your assets are distributed. But who should oversee your trust?
As the person who established the trust — known as the “grantor” or “settlor” — you can also name yourself as trustee. However, this may not be the best move, particularly if the trust is irrevocable. An irrevocable trust protects the assets in the trust from creditors and civil judgments, but if you serve as trustee, this protection will disappear. It might be more advantageous for you to be the trustee of a revocable (living) trust, which can be modified without much trouble and allows you to move assets in and out of the trust and to change trust beneficiaries.
You should work with a qualified estate-planning attorney to determine which type of trust, if any, is appropriate for your situation, and to get some guidance on the wisdom of serving as your own trustee.
