What does a trustee do?

A trustee has many duties and responsibilities, including:

• acting in the best interests of the trust and beneficiaries – beneficiaries are the people that receive benefits from the trust
• identifying and protecting trust assets
• balancing what the beneficiaries want with any rules or restrictions in the trust instrument and the law – a trust instrument can be a person’s will, a trust deed or a court order
• distributing assets in line with what the trust instrument says
• reporting on the trust’s assets and distributions
• maintaining records to show that the trust is complying with the trust instrument and the law.

How can we help?

If you’re a trustee, but aren’t able to or don’t want to keep doing the role, you may be able to transfer your responsibilities to us.

We can take over your duties as a trustee and take responsibility for the trust.

Contact us to discuss your situation.

How is a trustee appointed?

The trustee of a trust can be listed in your will. If the trust is set up while you’re living, you can choose who the trustee will be when setting up the trust and writing up the trust deed.

A trustee can be one person, a group of people, an organisation or a trustee company, such as State Trustees.