Naming a trustee is a governance decision, not a formality. For a short, simple revocable trust, a family member is a reasonable choice. For long-duration, irrevocable, multi-beneficiary or tax-sensitive trusts, and for any trust intended to use South Dakota law, a corporate trustee is ordinarily the stronger choice. The real question is not who loves the family most but who can administer the trust with neutrality, continuity and a defensible process for decades.
A corporate trustee offers process, continuity, neutrality and regulatory oversight that a relative rarely matches, and family trustees fail in predictable ways: the sibling who cannot escape the appearance of favoritism, the capable relative with no records, the successor who misses the first Form 1041. South Dakota adds a legal reason: its statute conditions the effectiveness of a South Dakota governing law clause on real administration in the state by a qualified trustee.
The full piece is at turnipseed.law.
