Trust
and Estate Services for Professionals
From time to time,
attorneys and other
professionals require services that support their implementation of
trust and estate planning. Summit Trust Company has designed an
array of supplemental services that make the job of the Professional
much easier.
Over the years we have found that many attorneys and other
professionals are very good at drafting and designing trusts and estate
plans, but they do not have the time or the staff expertise to perform
some of the more mundane, but critical functions.
Some
of these functions include:
Administrative Trustee:
Summit acts as “Administrative Trustee”,
alongside the primary trustee; meets the legal requirements for a
“Nevada Resident Trustee” to qualify the trust under Nevada Law;
provides favorable treatment with regard to asset protection.
Custodial Trustee:
Summit acts as “Record-Keeper” of brokerage
accounts, stocks, bonds, mutual funds, life insurance bank accounts,
real estate, limited liability companies, LLC’s, family limited
partnerships; relieves the trustee of these tedious activities.
Distribution Trustee:
Summit acts on behalf of beneficiaries and
the primary trustee in the independent and delicate role of authorizing
distributions requested by the beneficiaries; a difficult role if
imposed on friends, relatives or professional advisors.
First year’s fee includes document review.
Funding (Retitling of
Assets to Trust): Summit performs funding of a
new trust by re-titling assets to the trust. Most families and their
financial advisors are not experienced in funding a trust, and most
professional offices do not have staff accustomed to dealing with
brokerage firms, banks, mutual fund companies, life insurance policies,
real estate deeds, annuities, treasury bills and bonds, savings bonds
and other assets.
Portfolio Performance
Reporting: Summit reports on performance of
investments in a trust, even though managed by investment advisors,
stock brokers, financial planners or the primary trustee. This is an
aggregate reporting service and provides reports that are concise and
easy to understand; provides trustee, beneficiaries, or special trustee
for investments, data to monitor investment performance.
ILIT Notification
Trustee: Summit sends “Crummey” Letters on behalf of
an outside trustee to the beneficiaries of the irrevocable life
insurance trust, and collects any responses, if needed.
Independent Investment
Trustee: Summit will assist primary trustee in
placing and managing investments; in placing and managing investments;
primary trustee may give discretion to Summit to make certain
investments; relieves primary trustee of the burden of day-to-day
investment decisions.