Co-Trustees Acting Independently

Co-Trustees Acting Independently
question

If a Revocable Trust has 2 co-trustees and it states "either original Co-Trustee may act independently for the Trust without the necessity of consent or joinder by the remaining Co-Trustee," is it necessary to get both Co-Trustees signatures on bank account signature cards?

answer

The best answer is to have both sign the signature cards and be on the account. Depending on state law acting independently may not mean that the trustee who is not officially acting is absolved of liability. Thus, acting independently may not assure that the non-acting trustee can avoid his or her fiduciary responsibility. That being said, many trusts make some provisions for separate action to facilitate handling routine matters. So is it necessary, according to the trust you quote (but be sure you/your lawyer have read the entire document). It might very likely still be advisable to have both.

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