Co-trustees
Rose may have named herself as co-trustee with you. Or she may have named someone else to act as co-trustee with you. The trust agreement should say whether you and any co-trustees can make decisions alone or must agree on decisions, either unanimously or by majority rule. If the trust agreement doesn’t say how co-trustees make decisions, then Texas law requires a majority of the co-trustees to agree.
In any case, you must coordinate with any co-trustee and share information about decisions. Even if you and a co-trustee don’t agree on all decisions, you cannot let a co-trustee do something that harms Rose. You are still responsible for her best interest. If you and a co-trustee cannot come to an agreement about Rose’s best interest, you should review the trust agreement and talk to a lawyer to determine how to proceed.
Successor trustees
Rose may have named a successor trustee to act for her if you are not able to be the trustee. A successor trustee has no authority if you are still acting as trustee. If you are the successor trustee, you should ask the previous trustee for detailed records related to the trust. If you discover that the previous trustee did something improper, you should talk to a lawyer.
Other types of fiduciaries
Other fiduciaries may have authority to make decisions for Rose. For example, she may have a guardian of her person or her property, a representative payee who handles Social Security benefits, or a VA fiduciary who handles veterans benefits. It is important to work with these other fiduciaries. You also may need to keep them informed about the trust.