CONTACT US
Enter your Name, Email Address and a short message. We'll respond to you as soon as possible.
1021223-00006-00
Jeffery Palmer, ChFC®
Financial Planner
CA Insurance Lic. #0F60729
Cathy Davis
Client Service Specialist
Phone: 828-333-4748
Christina Palmer
Client Service Specialist
Phone: 828-333-4747
christina.palmer@prudential.com
Gaylen Allen
Client Service Specialist
Phone: 828-575-1250
Jaclyn Schmitz
Client Service Specialist
Phone: 828-333-4139
The Palmer Group
603 Alliance Court
Asheville, NC 28806
Phone: 828-687-8818
Fax: 828-687-4482
Website: jeffpalmergroup.com
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.
1122950
Jeffrey Palmer is a Financial Planner with, and offers securities and investment advisory services 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 The Palmer 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.
The Palmer Group and LTM Marketing Specialists LLC are unrelated companies. This publication was prepared for the publication’s provider by LTM Client Marketing, an unrelated third party. Articles are not written or produced by the named representative.
The information and opinions contained in this web site are obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but their accuracy cannot be guaranteed. The publishers assume no responsibility for errors and omissions or for any damages resulting from the use of the published information. This web site is published with the understanding that it does not render legal, accounting, financial, or other professional advice. Whole or partial reproduction of this web site is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher.