Choosing Your Trustee: Family, Corporate, or Independent?

“A concise look at the strengths and trade-offs of three common trustee models.”

Family-Member Trustee

• Deep relational context — understands family history, values, subtleties

• High accessibility (lowest caseload) — usually 1 trust, quick contact

• Minimal direct cost — many relatives waive fees

• Empathy in gray areas — flexible for health, education, caregiving

• Emotional bias & conflicts

• Competing day-jobs dilute focus

• Limited technical depth

• Administrative fatigue

• Institutional bench strength — lawyers, CPAs, portfolio managers, compliance officers

• Regulated oversight & insurance — bonding, audits, risk controls

• Perpetual life — no interruption when individuals retire or pass away

• Clear separation from family politics — policy-driven decisions

• High caseload (≈ 200 trusts per officer) — limited personal attention, slower responses

• Rigid policies & slower approvals — standardized procedures frustrate entrepreneurial families

• Relationship turnover — trust officers rotate, beneficiaries must retell their story

• Averse to commercial real estate — many banks decline the mandate or charge hefty fees

• Balanced caseload (≈ 15–40 trusts) — more bandwidth than corporate models

• Objective & product-agnostic — no incentive to push in-house funds or insurance

• Customization & collaboration — tailored reporting; works smoothly with existing advisors

• Emphasis on human capital — communication, conflict prevention, beneficiary development

• Key-person or small-team risk — illness or departure can disrupt service

• Capacity limits — boutique firms may cap client count for very large families

• Outsourced back-office — accounting or custody adds another vendor to oversee

• Comparable cost on complex trusts — fees rise with special assets or intensive work