I am thinking of becoming a co-trustee of my mom’s living trust, She is 82 and things are getting a little difficult for her.
She owns a small apartment building. I don’t want to get sued if somebody slips and falls. Says there is mold or whatever.
I don’t know all the problems that can occur. 
What are trustees doing to protect themselves?
Buy insurance. Many companies will sell insurance policies naming the Trust and trustees as an insured. If the trust owns a single home it is similar to a homeowners policy. With a small apartment building it would have to be a commercial liability policy. Check with her current insurer. Note that most insurance policies will not cover mold.
@Tyberius,
Thanks.
Look into forming a business for this and become an LLC for some protection.
Check places like legal zoom
People can sue you in your capacity as trustee, but you won’t be personally liable (beyond the assets of the trust) unless you breached your fiduciary duties to the trust or acted with some sort of malice.
What were you planning to do with the building if your mother died and left it to you? If you owned the building, you could get sued if someone slips and falls. It’s actually pretty rare that the commercial insurance you would carry on the building, plus the building’s borrowing capacity, would be inadequate to handle normal sorts of business liabilities. Putting the building into an LLC or S corporation would provide an additional layer of protection beyond that, but only so long as you are pretty meticulous in following formalities. And some places (like where I live) there is actually a pretty high transfer tax cost to putting real estate into a wholly owned LLC.
The LLC does not protect you from being sued, by the way. It just gives you an argument for dismissing the suit before it goes too far, and protects you from personal liability.
What you should worry about more, perhaps, in becoming a trustee is liability to other people who may be beneficiaries of the trust after your mother dies. If you make decisions (or agree with decisions your mother makes) that go badly, other people can question your judgment. And you can be held personally liable to a beneficiary for improper actions as a trustee.
I am not telling you not to do it. But you should talk to a lawyer and make certain the trust has good indemnification terms for the trustees, and also address what kinds if issues might arise.
@JHS,
I just talked to my attorney an hour ago.
She said what you said.
Thanks. Your post is a good confirmation. I appreciate your post.