A trustee is an individual who has either assumed or been charged with the responsibility to hold property on behalf of a beneficiary. Some of the reasons that trustees are appointed is because the beneficiary is unable to manage their own affairs, either because they have not yet reached the age of majority or has demonstrated themselves to lack the mental capacity to manage their own affairs.

Some of the typical examples of a trust that will require the services of a trustee include will trusts that are established for the testator’s children or heirs, a pension trust which confers benefits to employees or their families, or a charitable trust. A trustee in any of these cases can be an individual or a company. A trustee is not prohibited from being a prospective beneficiary.

Trustees assure certain duties to the beneficiaries of a trust. Some of a trustee’s duties are fiduciary. Included in the duties of a trustee is the responsibility to carry out the trust instrument’s expressed terms, to defend the trust, to invest the assets of the trust in a prudent manner, to remain impartial in disputes among beneficiaries, to account for and keep the trust’s beneficiaries informed of the trustee’s actions, to remain loyal to the best interests of the trust, to not delegate responsibility for the management of the trust, to not derive profits from the trust, to avoid conflicts of interest, and to always bear in mind the best interests of the beneficiaries.

The specific restrictions of the actions of trustees can be modified according to the terms of the instrument that establish the trust in the first place.

A board of trustees is also known as a board of directors, board of governors, board of managers, or executive board, although it is frequently referred to as just the Board. Whichever name it is known as, a board of trustees is responsible for directing the business operations of a company.

A board of trustees can be appointed by the stockholders. In a professional society, or any other organization with voting members, the board of trustess acts on behalf of and is subordinate to the full assembly of the organization.

The board of trustees in an organization which grants voting rights to members are elected by the full assembly. In non-stock corporations which do not have general voting members, the board is the supreme governing body for the institution. The individual appointed to be the head of the board of trustees is usually known as the Chairman of the Board.

The Trustees of Reservations is an organization based in Massachusetts who are devoted to the distinctive charms of New England. The board of trustees for Trustees of Reservations have dedicated themselves to celebrating and protecting the outdoor areas of New England. One of their goals is to share the passion they feel for the irreplaceable natural and cultural treasures in their care. The Trustees of Reservations board of trustees has established an ambitious ten year plan to promote conservation throughout New England.

A public trustee is an official who has been appointed to fill an office that has been established pursuant to a statute passed by a national, state, territory, or local government in order to act as a trustee for a trust that has been established to administer a sum that is required to be deposited as a form of security through legislation.

A public trustee may also be appointed if the courts have been forced to remove another trustee from their role administering a trust. A public trustee in this case is appointed to replace a trustee who has engaged in impropriety, although the level of impropriety required to force a court to decide that it must appoint a public trustee varies from case to case.

Other circumstances under which a public trustee may be appointed is to serve estates where either a will does not name a specific executor or the testator had decided that they would rather have a public trustee oversee the distribution of their estate. A testator may elect to name a public trustee if there is concern about bias among their relatives which would affect the administration of their estate.

A public trustee can only be named if there is a will already on file. Otherwise the estate will be overseen by an administrator. Public trustees may be needed if the executor named in the will has either predeceased the testator, has died at the same time, or is otherwise incapacitated.

A bankruptcy trustee is an individual who has been appointed by a bankruptcy court to oversee the financial reorganization of an individual who has filed for Chapter 13, Title 11 bankruptcy under the Uniform Bankruptcy Code adopted in the United States of America. A Chapter 13 trustee will develop the plan that will allow the person who has filed for Chapter 13 reorganization to repay their debts.

Under this form of bankruptcy, a bankruptcy trustee will supervise the payment plan of an individual until the debt is repaid or for three years, whichever happens first. However, if it is determined that the individual who has filed a bankruptcy claim has an above average level of income, then the Chapter 13 trustee may have to supervise the repayment plan for five years.

A bankruptcy trustee has a specific focus that a public trustee may employ. A Chapter 13 trustee can be alternatively known as a United States Trustee or a Bankruptcy Administrator. The branch of government of the United States of America which employs each bankruptcy trustee, whether they are a Chapter 13 trustee or any other kind, is the Administrative Office of the United States Courts. North Carolina and Alabama are the only states that employ bankruptcy administrators instead of a bankruptcy trustee.