Trustee

The trustee is the legal owner of the trust property, but holds it only for the beneficiaries and must always act in their best interests. A trustee owes fiduciary duties — to act honestly, avoid conflicts of interest, keep proper accounts, and follow the terms of the trust deed or Will. Choosing the right trustee matters enormously, because they will exercise real power over money and decisions for years, sometimes decades.

A trustee can be a trusted individual (often the same person as an executor in a testamentary trust), a professional, or a corporate trustee. Example: Daniel appoints his sister and his accountant as joint trustees so family knowledge and financial expertise are combined. Trustee duties and default powers are set by each state's Trustee Act, so well-drafted documents usually expand on the statutory baseline.