How Cotrustees Share Authority and Liability in Arizona

Decision-Making and Disagreements

Naming cotrustees can provide checks and balances, but it also introduces the possibility of deadlock. Arizona law addresses this directly: if cotrustees cannot reach a unanimous decision, the majority rules. When a vacancy occurs, the remaining cotrustees continue to act for the trust without needing court approval or a replacement.

Each cotrustee is expected to participate in trust functions. A cotrustee cannot simply step back and let the others handle everything unless they are unavailable due to absence, illness, disqualification, or another temporary issue. If one cotrustee is temporarily unavailable and action is urgently needed, the remaining cotrustees can act without them.

Delegation and Liability Between Cotrustees

A trustee may delegate specific tasks to a cotrustee unless the trust requires the trustees to act jointly. That delegation can be revoked at any time, as long as it was not made irrevocable. This flexibility allows cotrustees to divide responsibilities based on expertise or availability.

The liability rules are equally practical. A trustee who does not join in another trustee's action is generally not liable for it. But that protection has limits. Every trustee has a duty to exercise reasonable care to prevent a cotrustee from committing a material breach of trust, and to compel a cotrustee to fix one if it occurs.

A dissenting trustee who goes along with the majority and documents the dissent at or before the time of the action is protected from liability, unless the action constitutes a material breach. Putting disagreements in writing is not just good practice; it is a legal safeguard.