Description
Book SynopsisAn insightful and practical guide to family trusts Family Trusts is a step-by-step guide for anyone involved in family trusts: trust creators, trustees, beneficiaries, and advisors. It will help families create and administer a culture that recognizes trusts as a gift of love.
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments xv
Foreword xvii
Preface xxv
Introduction 1
Keith Whitaker
Principles 3
Notes 13
Part One: Introducing the Trustscape 15
Chapter 1 Navigation Works Better When You Have a Destination in Mind 17
Beyond the Thought Experiment 20
Questions for Reflection 22
Note 22
Chapter 2 The Trustscape 23
Introducing Your Trustscape 25
A Dynamic Tableau 26
A Closing Exercise 27
Note 28
Chapter 3 Some Key Terms 29
Chapter 4 Know Your Narratives 33
Depends Where You’re Sitting 35
A Thirst for Education 36
Note 39
Part Two: The Players 41
Chapter 5 The Trust 43
A Short Description of a Long History 44
A Closing Exercise 47
Notes 50
Chapter 6 The Trustee 51
The Trustee 52
Choices 55
Chapter 7 Beneficiaries and Trust Creators 59
Beneficiaries 62
Trust Creators 66
Notes 75
Chapter 8 The Trust Protector and the Trust Adviser 77
Trust Advisers 78
Trust Protectors 79
Choices 81
Part Three: Building Great Relationships 85
Chapter 9 Considerations Prior to Accepting Appointment as Trustee 87
So—You’ve Been Asked to Serve as Trustee 89
Now for Some Homework 89
If You are New to the Trustscape 90
Understanding the Technical Side 91
Almost There 93
A Final Step 94
Note 95
Chapter 10 Creating Preambles 97
Preambles and Purpose 98
“But My Trust Was Drafted 20 Years Ago!” 100
Themes and Schemes 101
Preambles Created by Trustees and Beneficiaries 102
Revisit the Preamble 103
As You Begin to Create Your Preamble 104
Note 105
Chapter 11 Action Steps Prior to the First Trustee-Beneficiary Meeting 107
If You are a Trustee 108
If You are a Beneficiary 110
Note 113
Chapter is Positive Events, Supportive Responses 115
Matching Mind-set to Task 116
Supportive Responses to Positive Events 119
Play to Your Strengths 121
Notes 122
Chapter 13 Trustee-Beneficiary Meetings 123
Premeeting Checklists 124
If This is the First Meeting 126
A Sampling of Agenda Items 128
An “Appreciative” Exercise 130
Note 131
Chapter 14 Requests for Distribution 133
“This Worked because I Knew Susan . . .” 135
The Request Process 137
Analysis of a Request 139
About Enhancement 142
Note 143
Chapter 15 Working with Addictions 145
Chapter 16 Trusts and Marriage 153
Prenuptials 154
Within Marriage 157
Second Marriages and Beyond 161
Notes 163
Chapter 17 Transitions 165
Solomon’s Ring 165
This Too Shall Pass 166
Changing the Trust 167
Changing the Players 169
Coming to an End 171
Note 173
Part Four: A Comprehensive Model for a Humane Trustscape 175
Chapter 18 A Promise and a Challenge for Trust Creators 177
A Trust Creator’s Challenge 178
First, an Exercise for Trust Creators 179
Note 180
Chapter 19 The Highest Duty of the Trustee and the Corresponding Responsibility of the Beneficiary 181
I Wrote These Great Docs, but My Clients Won’t Sign . . . 183
The Highest Duty of the Trustee and the Corresponding Responsibility of the Beneficiary 184
Support for the Trustee 186
Support for the Beneficiary 188
Chapter 20 The Distribution Committee and the Office of the Beneficiary 191
Distribution Committee 192
The Office of the Beneficiary 195
Conclusion 201
Chapter 21 The Trustee and the Trust Protector Revisited 203
Which Cap’s on Top? 205
A Different Approach 206
Reconsidering the Institutional Trustee 209
Note 211
Appendices 213
Appendix 1 Sample Legacy Letter 215
Appendix 2 Sample Language Regarding Addiction 223
Appendix 3 The Distribution Committee 235
The Core Concept 236
Committee Members 237
Drafting Points 238
Appendix 4 Private Trust Companies 243
Definitions 243
PTCs versus Individual Trustees 244
Governance 246
Best Practices 248
Appendix 5 Family Trust Review 253
Purpose 253
Content 253
Process 254
Why Commission a Family Trust Review? 254
Opportunities for Commissioning a Family Trust Review 255
Note 256
Appendix 6 Reflections on the Often Unexpected Consequences of the Creation of a Perpetual Trust 257
By James E. Hughes Jr., Esq.
Notes 273
About the Authors 275
Index 279
