When a bank trust department should be co-trustee

From Liz Pulliam Weston's MSN Money column:

You're being put in charge of a sibling's money. Your parents may think your brother will waste his inheritance -- and maybe it's true, particularly if the sib has addiction problems, mental illness or is developmentally disabled. But leaving one child in the gatekeeper role is often a bad solution. . . .

If you can't convince your folks to give the money outright -- or if it's really not in your sibling's best interest to do so -- try to convince them to let you hire a professional co-trustee such as a bank. That way, the professional can be the "bad cop" and you might still get invited to family dinners.