4 Times You Might Consider Replacing Your Trustee

On Behalf of Ezell Law Firm, LLC

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Mar 20, 2025

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Estate Planning

When you create a trust you must pick one or more trustees for it. Hopefully, this person will fulfill their role well as required, but sometimes things might emerge that may prompt you to reconsider.

Here are a few situations that may require this.

1. The person is no longer a citizen or resident

Louisiana law only permits U.S. citizens or legal residents to act as trustees, as well as some institutions. While it is relatively rare that someone loses or renounces their citizenship, there are plenty of people who give up or lose their residency.

2. The person files for bankruptcy

You don’t necessarily need to remove a trustee because they file for bankruptcy, but some would recommend it as a precaution. They would argue that the person might face extra temptation to use your estate to right their financial situation. Others would argue that bankruptcy is often down to bad luck and should no way be considered as a comment on a person’s honesty.

3. The person is convicted of a crime

Around half of all Americans have a criminal conviction, so you’d be severely limiting your options if you used not having one as a criterion for an executor. Some crimes, such as fraud should cause you to rethink your choice, but many crimes are irrelevant. Someone with a record for taking part in a protest or for driving a few miles an hour over the speed limit is probably just as worthy of your trust as they were when you chose them. That said, being in prison would make it difficult for someone to fulfill their role.

4. Issues appear between them and other trustees

If you pick co-trustees, you need to know they can work together. If you discover that they have issues with each other, it might be time to change one or both.

If you do wish to change a trustee, be sure to learn how to do so in the correct legal manner.