The Trust Protector is a modern trust law concept, which delivers control to settlors of trusts, beneficiaries, and their advisors than ever before. The Trust Protector acts as a “super trustee,” and allows the settlor, beneficiaries, and their advisors to modify and control many important aspects of an irrevocable trust and provide direction to the trustee with respect to investment management, jurisdiction, and trust distributions. Many of the benefits that are associated with a revocable trust are now available with an irrevocable trust via the Trust Protector.
Reasons to Include a Trust Protector:
Protectors allow for a great degree of flexibility when dealing with changes in circumstances, including both factual circumstances (death, premature divorce, previously unknown children, etc.) and legal changes (any legal changes, but most frequently tax law changes);
- The the trustee should be replaced;
- The settlor wishes certain powers to be withheld from the trustees;
- The settlor wishes a third party to act as a main point of contact between the beneficiaries and the trustees; or
- The governing law and situs of the trust is no longer advantageous and should be updated to a new jurisdiction.