What is a trustee?

A trustee is someone that people have placed their trust in. Usually this means that a person is responsible for money or financial instruments on behalf of someone else. Often a minor, who is not able to contract, will have a trustee that maintains a trust for that minor. A trust is a set of funds, investments and/or property that they must track and report on with full accountability.
Briefly, a trustee is someone who holds legal title to property in trust for another. They owe a duty to the beneficiary of the trust and must carry out their duty in accordance with the provisions of the trust instrument. A trustee in bankruptcy is an officer appointed by the court to collect the assets of the debtor and who can sell the debtor's property under the supervision of the court.