There are several truisms that accompany the practice of law. One of these is the fact that your family and friends will invariably and periodically ask for your assistance in addressing legal issues. As a trusted companion with the benefit of a legal education, a lawyer may even find that they have been appointed as an estate trustee under the Will of a friend or family member, occasionally without prior consultation.
Individuals who have accepted the role of estate trustee are often later astonished by the sheer amount of work and responsibility that the position entails. An estate trustee is a fiduciary, who is obliged to act in the best interests of the beneficiaries under the Will. In addition to their underlying fiduciary duty, the following is a brief and non-exhaustive summary of the specific tasks facing an estate trustee:
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