Grantor:

The Grantor is the creator of the trust. This person has built an asset base and wants to ensure that those assets are distributed according to their wishes. The grantor does not have to be significantly wealthy or have a large number of properties or assets. They may be a parent with a large life insurance policy who wants to guarantee that their children are provided for without receiving a large sum of cash all at once.

The grantor has ultimate control in setting up the trust: which assets will be transferred into trust, who will serve as trustee while he or she is living and after his or her death, and how the trust property will be administered during or after his or her lifetime.

The grantor also specifies the purpose of the trust: if the trust may be altered (and by whom), powers given to the trustee, and when disbursements are to be made. In some cases, the creator of the trust may also name himself as co-trustee to be responsible in part for administering the trust. 

Trustee:

The trustee is responsible for managing and administering the trust and strictly adhering to the terms of the trust as well as applicable state law in performing its duties. The trustee must be legally competent to accept the trust property he or she is to manage.

The trustee is held to strict fiduciary standards in order to ensure that they can only use assets from the trust property for the beneficiaries, not for their own benefit.

Beneficiary:

This person, group of people, or institution benefits from the trust, eventually receiving some or all of the property placed in the trust. The beneficiaries of the trust must be clearly identified or ascertainable. This could mean naming current beneficiaries and then allowing for the inclusion of others born after the trust’s inception.

Current beneficiaries are entitled to receive current income or principal distributions from the trust either at the discretion of the trustee or as required by the terms of the document. Remainder beneficiaries are those beneficiaries that succeed the interest of the current beneficiaries. In many cases, the principal of the trust is distributed to remainder beneficiaries. A beneficiary can be a person or an institution.

We balance any requests against the interest of both the current income and remainder beneficiaries. We typically apply the Total Rate of Return concept so that both current and future beneficiaries’ interests are considered.

Yes, each of our clients has a primary relationship with a dedicated trust officer or administrator. Each relationship manager is part of a team, so there will always be someone available who is familiar with the account.

No. We believe our relationship managers should be fully focused on their current clients.

Since our relationship managers do not have sales goals and have a manageable number of accounts, they are able to develop long-term relationships with their clients and regularly communicate with them, as needed.

Yes, we have a team that focuses on the administration of illiquid assets held in trust. Our team works in conjunction with any external property managers.

Yes, we have a team dedicated to the administration of Special Needs Trusts.