Choosing the best trustee

April 25, 2018

These days when people have financial problems they often shop around for the best trustee to help them out. But what are the considerations in choosing the best trustee, and why?

Personally, I prefer using local companies to help me out with both goods and services. Some trustee’s have better, slicker, flashier advertisements than others. Some trustees, like many other businesses, have expanded their services into more town, cities and regions. Some remain in one location.

Choosing the best trustee to help you can be a daunting task faced with sales pitches from each of the offices you have visited. Yes, there are sales pitches. Even though trustees are regulated so as not to be selling services that are unwanted they are all aware of their competition and the need to sell their firm as the best choice for you.

Here are some thoughts that we think are important to keep in mind:

1. Out of town trustees may be less available than local firms especially if they only have one designated day in your local office.
2. Maintaining contact with one or two people who know you and understand your situation makes it easier for you to communicate your concerns.
3. Larger practices may have more staff working on your file who don’t see the whole picture.
4. Smaller firms may lack some of the resources of larger firms and if key personnel are away you may have to wait to resolve an issue.
5. Personalities, you will have to be able to get along with your trustee firm for quite some time, from months to years depending on the administration type. Make sure you feel comfortable with your trustee.
6. If you feel that the trustee is too pushy or just trying to get you out the door to make room for the next client, lunch, golf or whatever then use a different one – you matter.

Choosing the best trustee is important and it benefits both you and the professionals having carriage of your file.