When a family member puts assets in a trust for you, they clearly want you to have those assets in the end.
You might therefore assume that once the family member dies, you can get rid of the trustee selected to manage the trust if you do not like them. Yet this is not how it works.
Ohio law only allows you to do so for specific reasons. It works on the assumption that the person leaving you assets via the trust chose that particular trustee for a good reason.
Trustees must manage the trust for the beneficiaries
A trustee must do the best for the beneficiaries while adhering to the rules the trustee set. Failing in one of these three ways might be grounds for removal:
- A serious breach of trust: If you suspect the trustee has made any dubious or self-serving moves, you may want to remove them fast before they do you out of your money.
- Conflict between co-trustees harms the administration of the trust: Not everyone can work well together, which could reduce their ability to make the correct decisions so crucial to running your trust effectively.
- They are unfit, unwilling or fail to manage the trust effectively: Making one mistake is unlikely to be grounds enough, but consistent errors might be. Failing to put in sufficient time and effort or lacking the mental capacity to do a good job may convince a court to remove them.
You will need considerable evidence to back up any claims you make. Getting help to understand whether your situation meets these criteria and gather the necessary evidence to present your petition to a court will be crucial if you wish to remove a trustee.
