There really needs to be at least two trustees. The trustees must administer the trust in accordance with the terms of the trust document and the law that governs the trust. In most cases the settlor also becomes a trustee.
It’s important to choose the right trustees. They need to have good financial knowledge and be someone the settlor can trust. It could be a friend, a member of the settlor’s family or even a professional adviser.
The settlor can appoint a professional trustee who will usually charge for their services. However, it is not necessarily a good idea to ask a beneficiary to become a trustee, as this may lead to a conflict of interests.
In England and Wales a trustee must be over the age of 18; they should be mentally able and have a sound financial history.
A trustee can be a family member, friend, professional adviser or you could appoint a Trust Corporation.
However, care should be taken to avoid the risk of any conflicts of interest (e.g. to appoint a trustee who is a beneficiary) and to avoid appointing trustees who have a poor personal financial history.
It is possible for a trustee to stand down by way of retirement. As best practice however the trust should not be left with less than two continuing trustees following their retirement.
It may therefore be necessary to appoint a new trustee to replace a retiring one. This is usually possible by use of a form, referred to as a "Deed of Appointment"
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Where a trustee dies the remaining trustees act on behalf of the beneficiaries.
Any insurance company should be informed of the trustees death and, as a matter of best practice however, the trust should not be left with less than two continuing trustees following the death.
It may therefore be necessary to appoint a new trustee to replace the deceased trustee. This is usually possible by use of a form, referred to as a "Deed of Appointment"
It is possible for a trustee to be removed subject to the
laws of the trust deed. The vast majority of trust deeds
used in connection with life insurance have such a clause,
but it might be best to check. Where such a clause is not in
existence, it might be difficult to remove a trustee, and it
may be necessary to revert to court action.
As best practice however, the trust should not be left with
less than two continuing trustees following the removal of a
trustee. It may therefore be necessary to appoint a
replacement trustee. This is usually possible by use of a
form, referred to as a "Deed of Appointment"