Do I, as grantor, still maintain the power the trustee has?

Question

I used Rocket Lawyer’s documents to put together a Revocable Living Trust. 1. I, as grantor, put my mother’s name as the trustee. Do I, as grantor, still maintain the power the trustee has? Or, do I need to declare myself as a trustee as well?

Victor Waid · Answer

Without seeing the trust, I cannot answer your question. The old saying still remains you get what you pay for in life. Your question should be directed to Rocket Lawyer since it is their form, you are representing yourself in preparation.

Edward Armstrong · Answer

You should amend the trust and add yourself as a trustee or amend the trust to make yourself the trustee and your mother the successor trustee.  This has to be done properly so you may want to get some help from an attorney.

Norman Green · Answer

The grantor does not have the trustee's powers.  The trustee does not have the grantor's powers.  Ask Rocket.

Kathleen Delacy · Answer

You need to be trustee also.

James Frederick · Answer

It sounds like this is a bit of a mess. No, the grantor does not have the power of trustee. The trustee has powers like an owner, subject to the terms of the trust. The grantor only has whatever rights are reserved in the trust agreement. This is a very poor way to do your estate planning. At the VERY least, you should have all this reviewed by a lawyer to make sure you have not created a huge problem. There are other documents you need, as well, and you need to make sure that the trust was properly funded. Otherwise, the money you "saved" on not setting this up the right way will be more than spent on fixing things, down the road.

Brian Haggerty · Answer

It's hard to imagine what a "Rocket Lawyer" document might say. First answer, read the document. A serious revocable living trust will reserve to the grantor (in Oregon, we now use the term "settlor") the right to revoke or amend the trust. The trustee has certain duties and powers. So you can do a trust amendment naming yourself co-trustee (is your mother doing things as trustee that you don't like? maybe remove her as trustee?) or as the sole trustee.  Has all your property been transferred to your mother as trustee of the trust? If you remove her as trustee, make sure you transfer all the property to you as trustee of the trust.  There are many ways that a revocable living trust can be ineffective, or actually mess up your estate plan. Are you sure that you want to trust the disposition of your estate to a do-it-yourself plan?

Dara J. Goldsmith · Answer

You need to hire an attorney to explain and assist you with any needed amendments to your trust, or possibly revocation.  Unless someone reviews what you signed, you cannot get effective advice.  I oftentimes explain to do it yourself that  it is oftentimes less expensive to have an attorney draft everything rather than revise what was done.  This information is only intended to give general information in response to an inquiry.  It does not establish an attorney client relationship.  This response is only based upon the limited facts presented and is merely intended to assist you in determining if you should contact an attorney to provide you with legal advice.

Thomas Phipps · Answer

Right now your mother is the sole trustee, so she is the only one who can manage the trust.  You should add yourself as trustee, or co-trustee.  Since you have a revocable trust, you can do an amendment to make that change.

Jonathan Shimberg · Answer

Without examining the document one can not provide an intelligent answer. It depends on what powers were reserved to you as Settlor.

Bernard H. Greenberg · Answer

Well, you have encountered one of the many problems with Rocket Lawyer and Legal Zoom. Generally, you would be the trustee of your own revocable grantor trust. The reason to work with a competent lawyer specializing in trusts is to avoid these problems.  You can examine the trust you created and see if you retained the right to replace the trustee. If the form is fatally defective (as many DIY forms are) you can revoke the trust and work with a qualified attorney to create one for you that meets you needs.

Christine James · Answer

Clearly the question you are asking shows you are over your head and really should speak with an attorney to draft your trust.  It sounds like the way you are drafting it you are making your mother trustee now and if that is the case you have no power over anything in the trust.

Mark T. Peters · Answer

You need to be the trustee.

Jon Zahaby · Answer

You need to grant yourself the power as trustee in a revocable living trust if you wish to have trustee powers.

Thomas Edward Gates · Answer

You need to be a Trustee so that you can "manage" the Trust.

Gerald Bagazinski · Answer

You relinquished power to your mom. This is not an exempt grantor trust  under the Internal Revenue Code. You need to get an EIN and file a separate US Fiduciary Income Tax Return. . I am sure that is not what you had in mind when you filled in the blanks of the  do it yourself document. Seek professional advice concerning the document.

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Do I, as grantor, still maintain the power the trustee has?

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