One of our clients sold an industrial business, a private company. During the presale period, our team spoke to our client’s CPA and the trust attorney to help prepare the sale and discuss complex implications with tax and titling of assets.

Post sale, we worked with our client to develop a portfolio that focused on risk mitigation of their net worth, tax-efficient income, and charitable gifting through an irrevocable life insurance trust and grantor-retained annuity trusts to pass on some of the assets to the next generation. Since the family was philanthropically inclined, we helped create and manage a foundation investment account, where family members meet once a year and discuss charitable giving.

A few years later, one of the trustees became incapacitated. We leveraged Stifel’s wealth planning team to conduct a comprehensive, detailed review of their financial planning needs, trusts, and income taxes to help the family members reassess their overall strategy.

Trust and fiduciary services are provided by Stifel Trust Company, N.A. and Stifel Trust Company Delaware, N.A. (Stifel Trust Companies), wholly owned subsidiaries of Stifel Financial Corp. and affiliates of Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated, Member SIPC & NYSE. Unless otherwise specified, products purchased from or held by Stifel Trust Companies are not insured by the FDIC or any other government agency, are not deposits or other obligations of Stifel Trust Companies, are not guaranteed by Stifel Trust Companies, and are subject to investment risks, including possible loss of the principal invested. Neither Stifel Trust Companies nor affiliated companies provide legal or tax advice.

The real joy and usefulness for me that this business provides is illustrated by the following two events:

A couple I had known and worked with for about 15 years were getting ready to retire. The husband had figured that the best way to proceed was to sell one property they owned in Dallas and live at another property in Plano. Every six months, they’d also spend a couple of weeks in Maryland so they could be closer to their children and grandchildren.

I knew his wife really wanted to move back to Maryland, but the husband didn’t think the numbers made sense. After going through the planning process, and leveraging my own knowledge of the real estate market in and around Frederick, Maryland, they were able to see that selling both Texas properties and getting a house that was on a body of water in nearby Hagerstown not only made sense spiritually, but economically – so that is what they did.

The next story involves an extremely wealthy family who, after multiple reviews of their financial plan, finally agreed to take a look at their trust and current life insurance policies. Upon reviewing, we learned their current policies were almost all term life and expiating within 18 months, with no long-term care riders or as a standalone.

Then, we discovered that their trustee of their trust was the father of the husband who had been deceased for 10 years, and that the secondary trustees were his sisters who were now estranged.

We also discovered that one of the beneficiaries was a beloved nephew who has since passed away.

Working with their attorneys, newly created trusts and whole life insurance policies were put into place on behalf of the family.

Trust and fiduciary services are provided by Stifel Trust Company, N.A. and Stifel Trust Company Delaware, N.A. (Stifel Trust Companies), wholly owned subsidiaries of Stifel Financial Corp. and affiliates of Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated, Member SIPC & NYSE. Unless otherwise specified, products purchased from or held by Stifel Trust Companies are not insured by the FDIC or any other government agency, are not deposits or other obligations of Stifel Trust Companies, are not guaranteed by Stifel Trust Companies, and are subject to investment risks, including possible loss of the principal invested. Neither Stifel Trust Companies nor affiliated companies provide legal or tax advice.