A trustee stands in a special relationship of fiduciary responsibility to the creator of the trust and to the beneficiaries. In carrying out his or her fiduciary duties, the trustee must be mindful of that unique relationship. The starting point is the trust instrument and its specification of what the trustee is to do to accomplish the purposes for which the trust has been established. For example, in the case of the simplest trust disposition, the instrument might state that the trustee is to (1) hold and invest the assets; (2) pay net income to a beneficiary for life; and then (3) distribute the remainder to a beneficiary. The emphasis on a particular duty may depend on the purpose for which the trust was created.
In addition to the general duties of a successor trusstee, a sucessor trustee also has several specific duties. You can read about the successor trustee’s specific duties here.
