Choose Wisely
One of the most important decisions in creating your estate plan may be who to name as trustee of your trust or executor of your estate. By law, your trustee is required to protect the assets you put into your trust or estate, to manage and care for them as you instruct in your trust or will, and to serve the interests of your beneficiaries.
To avoid the errors of inexperience, consider choosing a corporate trustee such as Heritage Bank of Central Illinois. Before you make this important decision, however, be sure to talk things over with your estate planning attorney. He or she can provide valuable information and perspective on the responsibilities you will ask your trustee or executor to assume.
The benefits of choosing Heritage Bank to become a part of your estate plan include:
- Experience. We have a history of managing a variety of assets and many different types of trusts.
- Fiduciary Responsibility. As your fiduciary, we act with discretion and intelligence, putting the interests of your beneficiaries first in all matters.
- Continuity. Serving under the terms of your trust can require years of commitment from your trustee. An individual trustee may become ill, die, move away or become weary of the amount of work involved. We will work with you and your family for the long run.
- Objectivity. We will manage the trust in accordance with its terms. An individual in your family may not want to be put in the position of making what could be considered unpopular decisions during the lifetime of your trust.
You can depend on Heritage to serve your beneficiaries with care and concern, answering questions, providing for their special needs as permitted by your trust agreement, and advising them on financial matters as they request.