POA Acting as Trustee of Trust

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Question:

Can a Power of Attorney be used to act for the trustee of a trust? I say no, because the trust is considered an entity itself, but others disagree.

Answer:

If you are simply named as the trustee of a trust and you give your power of attorney to a third party, he or she cannot act as trustee. As a general rule, fiduciary powers cannot be delegated to a third party; however, it is possible if the POA specifically addresses the trust and the trust acknowledges the POA. A sophisticated estate plan might include such reciprocity.

First published on BankersOnline.com 10/12/09