Creating a Trust

[VanderSnoot]

One of my 2022 goals is to get my affairs in order. Hopefully I'm doing this long before it's necessary. Among my goals is to create a Trust, but I don't know where to house it. One family member uses US Bank's wealth management team, but I'm not in the same part of the country and their offices are not convenient for me or the person who will be the Executor.

How did you do it? What should I look for? How important is the Trust Officer?

[iced]

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@VanderSnoot wrote:

One of my 2022 goals is to get my affairs in order. Hopefully I'm doing this long before it's necessary. Among my goals is to create a Trust, but I don't know where to house it. One family member uses US Bank's wealth management team, but I'm not in the same part of the country and their offices are not convenient for me or the person who will be the Executor.

How did you do it? What should I look for? How important is the Trust Officer?

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I'd think that picking the bank to go with is the easiest of the questions you'll be facing. I'm in a similar boat, but I'm still working with my advisor over questions like revocable vs. irrevocable, which type (I'm leaning toward a CLAT), terms, and all the other hairy details. We'll also very likely go through Fidelity since it's an existing brokerage for our assets and thus one less new login/account to deal with.

[SoCalGardener]

I did mine through my estate attorney. He was also my mom's estate attorney--and after she died, and I saw how painless he made everything, I was really glad I'd chosen him, too.

I have my own copy of all the documents (in a big, beautiful binder) and my attorney's office has their copies. My daughter knows to contact the attorney when I die.

I've never had a bank involved in a trust, nor have I known anyone who has--all of my relatives used their estate attorneys--so I really can't speak to that at all.

[Harvey26]

@VanderSnoot BOA has a really good trust program and they are usually alot more common then other banks but also you can do it through an outside wealth management company or find an attorney that deals specifically with trusts

[VanderSnoot]

I do have a trust attorney in mind. It sounds like the first step is really to contact her, which I had been holding off on assuming that other considerations came first. Does this sound right? If it's relevant, the Trust will include securities and possibly real estate (not yet clear).

[iced]

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@VanderSnoot wrote:

I do have a trust attorney in mind. It sounds like the first step is really to contact her, which I had been holding off on assuming that other considerations came first. The Trust will include securities and possibly real estate (not yet clear). Does this sound right?

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Any, all, or none of the above. Will vary from trust to trust. There's dodging estate tax trusts, there's buying condos and homes anonymously trusts, there's giving tax-free money to relatives while taking a this-year deduction for it trusts, and a thousand other types. What goes in them will vary just as much.

[VanderSnoot]

I edited my response above to clarify. Is it correct that the first step for me is to call the attorney? I know what assets (more or less) will be in the Trust.

[sccredit]

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@VanderSnoot wrote:

I edited my response above to clarify. Is it correct that the first step for me is to call the attorney? I know what assets (more or less) will be in the Trust.

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Yes, contact the attorney first. As far as bank with an executor in another part of the country I'd look at one of the national brokerages or national banks. Chase is my personal preference but most of the big guys will have the tools you need. 

[SoCalGardener]

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@VanderSnoot wrote:

I edited my response above to clarify. Is it correct that the first step for me is to call the attorney? I know what assets (more or less) will be in the Trust.

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Yes. A good estate attorney can work wonders for you, handling everything from real estate transfers to tax implications...

I think it's very important to find an attorney whose reputation is spotless and who's been practicing for a long time. Asking people you know and trust for personal recommendations is a great way to find an expert attorney. That's how I did it!