A living trust has to have a trustee. If you are the trustee of your own trust, that is fine. A family member or close friend you trust implicitly is good, too. If no logical candidates are available, you may want another individual or even an institution such as an attorney, bank, or trust company to serve this role for you. Just keep in mind that there will be charges for their services, whether hourly or as a percentage of the value of the trust.

There are a few points to consider specifically for interviewing potential nonfamily trustees:

• Find out in detail all fees that the trust would have to pay.

• Ask to meet the specific person who would handle your trust, and probe for compatibility both personally and philosophically.

• Investigate whether your trust will have to fit into one of their established styles or if your trust can be tailored to your individual preferences.

• Ask whether a family member could serve as co-trustee.

• Inquire about how decisions are reached if they use a trust committee.

You can negotiate what the fee should be, based on how much work will go into managing the assets, but there will certainly be some minimum annual figure.