Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Tennessee

Trustee requirements

I live in the state of TN. All of my family is in IL, upon the death of both me and my husband we have in our will to set up a trust for our minor child and payable to him at the age of 25. Our person we have appointed as guardian for him if he should so need one is in IL. We want to make a bank our trustee but are unsure of whether we need to do it here, or select a bank in IL which would make it closer to the guardian who would need to work with the trustee. What would you suggest? Are there any TN laws that would not let us select a bank out of state for trustee?

Also, if both parents were to die on our life insurance policies and IRA's we want a secondary beneficiary on it. We don't know whether to put our son's name or to put the trust as that. What happens if it is the son's name. Does that automatically go into the trust and payable to him at 25 or does he get it at 18 (legal age for adult)? Would either way go through probate?

Thanks


Asked on 3/06/98, 11:25 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Marshall Snyder Law Office Of Marshall Snyder

Guardianships, Life Insurance and IRA's

Except for limited circumstances, a guardian in Tennessee must be a resident of Tennessee. If your son is a resident of Tennessee and the guardian is a resident of Iliinois, the court probating your Wills would most likely require a co-guardain who is a resident of Tennessee. Under these circumstances, a Tennessee bank rather than an Illinois bank would appear to be a more appropriate co-guardian. However, banks require that the estate be fairly sizeable before they will agree to serve as guardian.

Life insurance and IRA's are outside the probate estate. Naming a second beneficiary is always a good idea to keep the life insutrance and IRA's from reverting into the probate estate, if the primary beneficiary were to predecease you. However, you are using the word "trust" rather generally. Are you talking about a revocable living trust or a testamentary trust contained within your Wills? If you name a testamentary trust as the second beneficiary, I believe the court probating your Wills would view this as subjecting the life insurance and IRA's to the jurisdiction of the probate court.

Read more
Answered on 3/07/98, 7:33 pm


Related Questions & Answers

More Probate, Trusts, Wills & Estates questions and answers in Tennessee