The Importance Of Positive Stories About Beneficiary/Trustee Relationships

When people think about trusts what might come to mind are negative stories about bad beneficiary/trustee relationships. There are some efforts being made to highlight some positive stories about relationships between beneficiaries and trustees. “The “Beneficiary and Trustee Positive Story Project” went public in this space on Dec. 18, 2012.” Focusing on positive stories can help people know what sort of structures can lead to success when designing and creating a trust. It is not enough to just focus on the bad relationships, but it is also crucial to have an idea about what sort of relationships work out successfully. This column mentions some of the upcoming agendas for collecting even more stories about successful beneficiary/trustee relationships. “The goal is to make new stories widely available so that we, along with our readers, may continue to identify best practices and develop practical applications.”

See Hartley Goldstone, Trusts Gone Right, Wealth Management, May 9, 2016.

Special thanks to Jim Hillhouse for bringing this article to my attention.