The Art of Trusteeship

About the Book

Over the last fifty years, millions of Americans have created trusts in which they have named friends and/or relatives to serve as trustees or successor trustees. Estate attorneys, financial planners and life insurance agents have encouraged this practice. A serious consequence is that many uniformed, well-meaning trustees are being sued for malfeasance, misfeasance, fraud and self-dealing. This book is designed to help individual trustees avoid many of the hazards of serving. It details the duties and powers of trustees and explains how to manage various types of investments properly. In addition, it discusses taxes that trusts have to pay and how to account to trust beneficiaries. It is invaluable for existing trustees and for people who are considering the possibility of being trustees.

About the Author

The author, a graduate of UCLA with a degree, Cum Laude, in Business Administration, has many years of trust experience: first administering trusts for major trust institutions, then as the author of several books on estate planning and Trust Department Administration and Operations, a two volume service considered by many as the trust industry's administrative bible, and finally as an expert witness in cases involving both individual and corporate trustees. His experiences as an expert witness have motivated him to write this book which he hopes will help novice trustees avoid time-consuming and costly problems.