The Shrinking TrusteeThe Shrinking Trustee

Glenn Kurlander, senior vice president and director, Family Wealth Advisory Services, Smith Barne

The historic origins of trusts stretch back a thousand years.² Yet the role of the trustee — particularly the corporate trustee — seems to have changed more in the past two decades than in all its prior history. And many of these changes have diminished the traditional role of the corporate trustee. Certainly, the kinds of trusts that limit a trustee's role are useful in certain circumstances and can serve important family goals. But this diminished fiduciary scope has the potential to become pervasive, turning trustees into mere administrators. That could severely harm the trust industry. More important, a weakened industry will be less able...