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David P. McCabe,
WMCP®, ChFC®, CLU®
Financial Planner
Nathaniel D. High,
CFP®, RICP®
Financial Planner
nathaniel@centuriafinancial.com
Nicholas J. Over, CFP®
Financial Planner
nicholas@centuriafinancial.com
Sara E. Martin
Operations Manager
Molly R. Kelsh
Client Service Specialist
Centuria Financial Group
2333 Baltimore Blvd Suite B
Finksburg, MD 21048
Phone: 443-952-7232
September/October 2026
Choosing a Trustee For a Child's Trust
Naming your spouse as trustee provides essential familial insight and continuity, but you must carefully balance these advantages against possible risks. Consider these questions. How well do you and your spouse communicate about finances? Trusts are complex. They require handling investments, taxes, and longterm wealth strategies. If you and your spouse disagree on these issues, naming them as a trustee may cause conflict. Also, consider whether they have the knowledge or experience to handle these tasks.
Does your spouse have the time for this commitment?
Serving as a trustee is demanding. Are they prepared to handle this role with their existing career, family, charitable, and personal obligations? An overloaded trustee may become stressed, leading to poor decisions that could affect your child's financial well-being.Could emotions compromise judgment?
Managing a trust can strain family bonds. Your child might sense favoritism or feel the effects of a parent-trustee's emotional choices. Contrasting parenting styles or values between spouses complicates trust management. Your trustee must act impartially, prioritizing your child's best interests.How strong is your relationship?
Divorce or conflict may impact your spouse's ability to stay impartial as a trustee. What if you disagree about distributions or stop speaking? Consider how this affects your child's trust. Does your spouse share your long-term vision for your child? The trustee must align with your goals for your child's lifestyle and education. Otherwise, their decisions may differ from your intent.Your trusted advisor can guide you through these questions. You may find that appointing a neutral party, such as a professional trustee, another family member, or a close friend, as trustee or co-trustee with your spouse is the best choice.
In 2025, appointing a trusted advisor or professional trustee as co-trustee or executor was the second most popular strategy (56% of respondents) for preventing high-net-worth family conflict— up 13 points from 2024.*
*Source: 2025 Trends in Trust and Estate Planning, wealthmanagement.com.
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David P. McCabe, Nathaniel D. High, and Nicholas J. Over are Financial Planners with, and offer securities and investment advisory service through LPL Enterprise (LPLE), a Registered Investment Advisor, Member FINRA/SIPC, and an affiliate of LPL Financial.
LPLE and LPL Financial are not affiliated with Centuria Financial Group.
This newsletter is general educational information provided by a Prudential Financial Professional and is not intended to market or sell any specific products and services, but rather provide general information about the subject matter covered only.
Centuria Financial Group and LTM Marketing Solutions, LLC are unrelated companies. This publication was prepared for the publication’s provider by LTM Marketing Solutions, LLC, an unrelated third party. Articles are not written or produced by the named representative.
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