Directed Trustee Services

Directed trusts are frequently used to:

• Keep an existing investment manager in place while adding a licensed Nevada trustee for administration and asset protection.
• Concentrate or diversify holdings in a single asset class — such as real estate, a family business, or other complex or illiquid assets — without a trustee's investment committee overriding that decision.
• Preserve family control over a closely held business or other legacy asset.
• Give a trusted family member or adviser ongoing authority over distributions, without placing that discretion in the hands of a corporate trustee.

Trust Adviser Responsibilities

Under the trust instrument, one or more trust advisers may be appointed to direct specific decisions, including:

• Investment direction — directing asset allocation, diversification, or concentration in a single asset class or sector (such as real estate or other complex assets); the Grantor or the Grantor's own investment adviser can be appointed to this role.
• Business and voting control — directing the voting of stock or membership interests in a family-held business, often exercised by a family member.
• Distribution decisions — directing distributions to beneficiaries or to causes identified by the Grantor, through an appointed distribution adviser.

Crawford Trust carries out these directions as directed trustee, without second-guessing the adviser's decision within the scope of their authority.

Trust Protector Responsibilities

If the trust instrument provides for one, a trust protector can hold broad oversight powers, including the authority to:

• Remove and appoint the directed trustee, trust advisers, or other fiduciaries.
• Direct investment decisions, or appoint an independent investment adviser to make them.
• Increase or decrease a beneficiary's interest in the trust, including adding or removing beneficiaries.
• Veto or direct distributions to beneficiaries.
• Amend the trust instrument, if the trust terms permit — including to respond to changes in tax law or to take advantage of changes in Nevada trust law.