Should I agree to be the trustee for my disabled cousin's living will?

Post date: 2018-09-18 20:42:48

My cousin is intellectually disabled and my Aunt's recently asked if she can list me as a trustee on his living will. I don't think they have any other good options, so I'd like to agree to it. But I don't know much about wills or trusts, so I just want to be sure I'm not accidentally committing myself to something way out of my league. Is being a trustee generally a big deal or not that major?

More detail: I don't know them that well but we have a very small family. They don't have a lot of money and I doubt they're using a lawyer for this (I think it's just a form that's required by the doctor). My understanding from some quick googling is that the trustee is responsible for paying money from the trust for living expenses. Actually I'm not sure what the trust is composed of, maybe he has a small inheritance from another relative. Or can a trustee just be responsible for making sure social security/disability money is spent correctly? Some other questions:
-If I agree, do I have any legal obligations? Can I easily back out if it turns out to be too much work?
-What's the difference between a trustee and an executor? It sounded like the living will could list both.
-Can you generally make a list of trustees? I'd rather list one of my parents first, and then me next in case they die.
-Is it hard to move states with a living will/trust? My cousin lives across the country, so I'd probably need to move him closer to my family if my Aunt died.

I'm a generally competent person, and I'm good at paperwork, but I don't want to devote my life to caring for someone I hardly know, even if they're family. I'm really hoping this is something I can reasonably agree to though!

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