A Checklist of Suggested Trust Provisions
Here are some suggested provisions that should be in all trusts to make them work well for you. These might not be in the form books or in the trust prepared for you by your lawyer.
Keep in mind that these are suggested provisions, and the actual language used in the trust document should be written by your attorney in accordance with state law. Attorneys attend conferences and seminars on trusts and estate planning and are often given sample forms and language to use in legal documents of a shareware basis. This helps keep us all current with the law and practice. We use these or modify them to fit our needs, so after a while, it can be impossible to find who wrote the first version. So the following paragraphs might include some of these and are included to show how the suggested provisions might read.
Joint Trusts: Who Makes Decisions?
For joint trusts, specify who can make decisions on behalf of the trust. This includes trust asset management as well as amending or revoking the trust. There is a danger in allowing either of the grantors to act independently without the consent of the other. And you need to state whether the powers of the surviving grantor as trustee are limited in any way at the death or disability of the other grantor. Here are two examples:
1. Either grantor can act for the trust independent of the other.
Trustee Designation: Husband and wife are hereby designated as Co-Trustees. The Co-Trustees may serve jointly or severally and either shall have full authority to act for the Trust independently. Should either husband or wife become unable because of death, incapacity, or other cause, to serve as a Co-Trustee, or should either resign as Co-Trustee before the natural termination of this Trust, the remaining Co-Trustee, husband or wife, shall thereafter serve as sole Trustee.
Amendment and Revocation: Grantors hereby retain the following powers, exercisable at any time during their lifetimes:
