The most carefully crafted wealth management plan can be seriously undermined by naming the wrong fiduciaries to carry it out. People can usually find family members, friends, or business associates willing to be named Personal Representative and trustee when there is no work to be done currently. Many clients realize, however, that the skill, experience, reliability and independence of an institutional fiduciary will be crucial when the time comes to tum their estate plans into reality, operating for the long-term benefit of their families.
Because fiduciary functions are complex, varied and last for long periods of time, it is unlikely that an individual, or even a succession of individuals, will consistently possess all these critical qualities.
In those cases where a client believes that a family member or other trusted individuals should remain involved with a trust to assure sensitivity to the client’s objectives and the family’s needs, the Peak Trust Company is perfectly willing to serve as Co-Trustee or Administrative Trustee.
In choosing between an institutional fiduciary, such as the Peak Trust Company, and one or more individuals, clients should remember some fundamental differences: