Your successor trustee takes over managing the trust when you die or become incapacitated. Naming that person usually takes about four seconds of thought. Oldest child. Done. Jason Gaudy, an estate planning and probate attorney at Gaudy Law in Upland, California, says that reflex is behind a large share of the trust litigation his office handles, and that his own recommendation has shifted noticeably over the last few years.
Why he now leans toward professional fiduciaries
Gaudy is in his 23rd year of practice. Over roughly the last five, he says he has started leaning heavily toward professional fiduciaries in any case where there is conflict or the potential for conflict.
The trigger is usually the clients themselves. He describes parents who come in already knowing how it will go: if we put her in charge, that’s going to be a problem; if we put the other one in charge, she can’t handle it. Once a family says that out loud, the professional option is on the table.
His framing is not that families are bad at this. He says he loves it when the kids can do the job. It is that some families already know they can’t.
What does a professional trustee cost?
Gaudy puts typical professional fiduciary fees at about 1% per year, sometimes 2%. His own read on that: it is not crazy money, but you would not want to hand 1% to a stranger if your children can simply get along.
That is the honest trade. The fee is real and recurring. It is also small next to what a contested trust costs. Gaudy notes that when a family fight forces a professional third party to step in mid-stream, you pay for the professional and the cost of trust litigation.
Why courts like a neutral trustee
When a trustee is not doing the job, Gaudy’s office files a petition to compel them or to have them removed. He says courts very often welcome a professional fiduciary as the replacement, for a straightforward reason: a professional will do the job, and won’t be swayed by emotion or by whatever happens to be going on that day.
There’s an enforcement mechanism underneath that. Professional fiduciaries are licensed, and Gaudy points out they want to keep their licenses. A sibling has no such incentive, only history with the other beneficiaries.
The two questions to ask about a family member
Where a family member is the right answer, Gaudy’s screening is not about competence with spreadsheets. He asks clients to identify two things:
Who is the peacemaker? Not the oldest, not the most successful, not the one who lives closest. The one the others actually listen to. He acknowledges this is a hard question for a parent to answer honestly.
Who is financially stable enough not to be tempted? His phrasing is that you want someone who won’t be tempted to do something dumb with the money. A trustee under financial pressure, holding rent checks and sale proceeds for their siblings, is a structural risk regardless of intentions.
For a real-estate-heavy estate, the job is heavier than most people picture. The trustee inherits the landlord’s chair: existing leases stay valid after the owner’s death, so the trustee may be collecting rent, dealing with tenants, and in some cases handling an eviction before a property can be sold. That is work, and it lands on one child while the others wait for their distribution.
Don’t let this stop you from planning at all
Gaudy’s caution is that people sometimes stall on the whole estate plan because they can’t find a perfect trustee. His answer: don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good. Pick the best person available and get the plan done.
The alternative is worse. Without a plan, the estate goes to probate, and in probate any of the children can be appointed. Gaudy notes that this itself can turn into a fight, with the outcome decided by who petitions first rather than by anything the parents wanted.
He also keeps perspective on frequency. Most families, he says, don’t have enough conflict for this to end in lawyers fighting. But if you have even a hint of it, he considers a professional a really good idea.
Not every estate needs the machinery, either. He describes a recent call from an only child whose parent left a primary residence worth under $750,000, which qualified for California’s summary small-estate probate and made the matter simple. The $750,000 threshold and the summary procedure are California-specific; other states set their own limits and processes.
What this means if you’re planning a 1031 exchange
If you exchange into replacement property and hold it in a trust, your successor trustee is the person who will eventually manage or sell it. Active property means active management and a heavier lift for whoever you name. Passive replacement structures shift the operating work to a sponsor, which changes what you’re actually asking of a trustee; see what a DST is for how that ownership differs. Whichever route you take, the trustee decision and the division of property among heirs are the same conversation, and Gaudy’s advice is to have your attorney, CPA, and financial advisor in it together.
Watch: When to Name a Professional Trustee Instead of Family with Jason Gaudy, Gaudy Law
Educational only. Not legal, tax, or investment advice. Jason Gaudy is licensed in California; rules vary by state. Consult your own advisors.