Stan Lee’s “Unfriendly Misalliance”: The Benefits of using a Corporate Trustee
By Juli Findling, Paralegal
Stan Lee, legendary comic book icon and creator of more than 100 super-heroes and villains, like X-Men, Spider-Man, and the Hulk, passed away recently. At age 95, after losing his beloved wife of almost 70 years, he suffered what he referred to as “unfriendly misalliance” involving his vast estate – fending off real-life characters, including his long-time road manager, two business associates, and even his only daughter. In the Daily Beast’s October 18, 2018 follow-up post, Stan Lee Breaks His Silence: Those I Trusted Betrayed Me, details emerge of forged checks paid to mysterious charities, suspicious real estate purchases, and even stolen blood used to sign his name on comic books for resale.
Like many who are successful in their professions, he trusted those nearest to him when it came to managing his estate, only to lose millions and spend his final years engaged in real life battles in the courtroom.
While most estates are not as vast, complicated, or filled with such larger-than-life characters as Stan Lee’s, his experiences shine a bright light on the importance of choosing the right people to look after and manage your estate. Especially if your estate contains trusts, picking Cousin Fred as Trustee may simply not be the right choice.
One of Stan Lee’s many famous quotes is inscribed on his mythical weapon, Mjolir: “Whosoever holds this hammer, if he be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor.” In the case of trusts, trustees “hold the hammer”, as they are the single most important party to a trust, in charge of:
- overseeing and safeguarding the administration of the trust;
- protecting the trust assets;
- making investment decisions;
- determining and managing trust distributions;
- filing tax returns; and
- performing day-to-day administrative duties.
Where there is doubt or complicated family dynamics, the best choice may not be a friend or a family member but rather a corporate fiduciary, like a trust administration service or a bank. Here are some reasons why:
- Unlike a family member or friend, a corporate trustee is an independent third party that will not have emotional ties or relationships with the beneficiaries and, therefore, can objectively administer the estate under the terms of the Last Will and Testament or Revocable Living Trust, without bias or pre-conceived judgment.
- Family members and friends may have your best interests at heart but not the legal and financial know-how or the resources needed to prudently manage your trust. Corporate trustees do – they offer investment and brokerage services to make trained investment decisions and a variety of other trust-related services.
- Corporate trustees are licensed, bonded and insured and are required to abide by strict government regulations. If anythinwg were to go wrong, the beneficiaries would have a much greater chance of being compensated for wrongdoing by a corporation, as compared to Cousin Fred, who can only be held accountable for gross negligence.
- Corporate trustees don’t die, get ill, or change their minds about performing their trustee duties. So the hassles of re-appointing a trustee should never be an issue.
Our attorneys can assist you with your entire estate plan, including helping to decide who would best serve as your Trustee.
For more information, please visit the Hoffman & Associates website at www.hoffmanestatelaw.com, call us at 404-255-7400, or send us an email.
