Attorney, trust company or family: who should act for you?
The short answer
Family fits when someone close is willing, able and nearby, and your affairs are simple. An attorney fits when the estate has legal complexity and you want a known adviser. A trust company fits when you need someone neutral who will outlast you and stay available. Many plans combine them, with family first and a professional as backup.
When you sit down to name an executor or a trustee, three kinds of candidates usually come up. A family member. The lawyer who helped with your will. Or a trust company, whose business is serving in these roles.
Each brings something real, and each has limits. This page compares them plainly so you can match the right one to each job. It is part of our guide to choosing professional help.
What each option actually is
A family member is a sister, son, niece or cousin you name in your documents. Family is also who the law picks by default when you name nobody, which is a separate question covered in default decision-maker laws by state.
An attorney can be named in their own name, like any qualified person. In Washington, a firm owned only by attorneys and organized under state law can also serve as an executor (RCW 11.36.010). Separately, any executor can hire an attorney for the legal work, without making the attorney the executor.
A trust company is a regulated firm that serves as executor, trustee or agent. Washington allows trust companies organized under its laws, and authorized national banks, to serve as executor even though most corporations can't (RCW 11.36.010). Washington trust companies are supervised by the state Department of Financial Institutions (RCW 30B.04.005).
All three, once named, are fiduciaries. That means legally required to act in your interest and follow what you wrote.
Side by side
| Question | Family member | Attorney | Trust company |
|---|---|---|---|
| Knows you personally | Usually best | Knows your documents and some of your history | Knows what you write down |
| Knows the legal steps | Often learns as they go, may hire help | Yes | Yes |
| Likely to be there in 20 years | Depends on age and health | Depends on the person and practice | Built to outlast the people it serves |
| Neutral among heirs | Can be hard if they are also an heir | Usually | Yes |
| Reachable at any hour | If they pick up | Usually business hours | Depends on the firm; ask |
| How it is paid in Washington | Reasonable pay if they want it, often waived | Executor pay plus fees for legal work, as a court allows | Its fee schedule; ask for it in writing |
For the pay row, Washington's rules are specific. An executor gets what the will sets, or what a court finds just and reasonable, and may be allowed more for legal work (RCW 11.48.210). An agent under a power of attorney is entitled to reasonable pay unless the document says otherwise (RCW 11.125.120). For what professionals tend to charge, see trust company fees and estate planning attorney cost.
When family is the right choice
Family can be the best choice, and often the warmest. Lean toward family when:
- Someone is willing, organized and younger than you
- They live close enough to get to the house or the hospital
- Your estate is simple, with few accounts and no business
- Your heirs get along, or the family member isn't one of them
The hard part with family is often timing. A brother your own age may be unwell when the day comes. A child three time zones away can sign papers but can't check the furnace.
Naming family on purpose still beats leaving it to the default. Say you haven't named a health care agent in Washington, and you have several adult children. The medical consent law then requires all available children to agree (RCW 7.70.065). One named person avoids that.
When an attorney is the right choice
An attorney may be the right executor or trustee when the legal work is the hard part. That might mean property in several states, a business, or an heir likely to contest the will.
Before naming your lawyer, ask a few things:
- Are you willing to serve, and what will you charge?
- Who takes over if you retire or leave the practice?
- Would you rather serve as executor, or advise whoever does?
For many estates, it works well to name a family member or trust company as executor and have them hire a lawyer for probate. The lawyer handles the court; the executor handles the rest.
When a trust company is the right choice
A trust company tends to fit when continuity and neutrality matter most. Think of a trust that will run for years, heirs who may not agree, or a plan where the people you'd name are your age.
A trust company is an institution, so the staff you deal with may change over time. Its knowledge of you comes from your file, which is why a written plan matters so much. Our page on corporate vs individual trustees goes deeper on that trade-off.
Questions to ask any trust company:
- Who regulates and examines you?
- What do you charge, and when does billing start?
- Will you serve in powers of attorney, or only as executor and trustee?
- Can you serve as backup behind a family member?
Mixing them is often the answer
You don't have to pick one for everything. Each role can have its own choice.
| Role | One way to fill it |
|---|---|
| Medical power of attorney | A family member or close friend first, a professional as backup |
| Financial power of attorney | A family member or a trust company, with the other as backup |
| Executor | A family member or trust company, who hires an attorney for probate |
| Trustee | A trust company, especially for a trust that will run for years |
If you name two agents to serve together under a power of attorney, Washington's default is that they must act jointly unless the document says otherwise (RCW 11.125.110). You may prefer one at a time, with the second as backup. That arrangement, with a professional waiting behind the first choice, is what we call a standby fiduciary.
Where Kinly fits
Kinly is one version of the trust company option. A membership names Trella Trust Company, a Washington State chartered trust company, in any or all four roles. It can be first, or backup to family or friends. If the trust company actually steps in and does work, it is charged by the hour, and you see the rates before anything starts. If your estate needs a litigator or a family-business specialist, a private attorney may serve you better. The two can work together. More on how it works, and on naming a friend vs a professional.
Common questions
Should my lawyer, a trust company, or a family member be executor?
Choose family if someone close is willing, able and nearby and the estate is simple. Choose an attorney if the legal work is complex. Choose a trust company if you want a neutral party that will be there decades from now. Naming one first and another as backup is often the most practical plan.
Can a trust company be executor in every state?
Rules vary by state. In Washington, trust companies organized under state law and authorized national banks may serve, while most other corporations may not. Check your own state's law, or ask the trust company where it can serve.
Is a family member cheaper than a professional?
Often, because many family members waive pay. But a family executor may still need to hire a lawyer or accountant, and the estate pays for that. In Washington, a family member serving as agent or executor is also entitled to reasonable pay if they want it.
What happens if the family member I name can't serve?
If you named a backup, the backup steps in. If you didn't, the law decides. In Washington, when every named executor refuses, the court appoints whoever would have been entitled with no will at all (RCW 11.28.010).
Sources
- RCW 7.70.065: Persons authorized to provide informed consent
- RCW 11.28.010: Letters testamentary
- RCW 11.36.010: Qualifications of personal representatives
- RCW 11.48.210: Compensation of personal representatives
- RCW 11.125.110: Coagents and successor agents
- RCW 11.125.120: Reimbursement and compensation of agents
- RCW 30B.04.005: Washington Trust Institutions Act definitions
This page is general information, not legal or financial advice. Laws vary by state.