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. 

Please click here to see our Fee Schedules for Trusts and Estate Services