Why Use a Corporate Trustee?
There are many reasons why wealthy families choose to engage the services of a corporate trustee. If any of the following are important to you, Hightower Trust Company can help:
It can be challenging for even the closest families to manage emotions when a loved one becomes incapacitated or passes away. When one family member is named as trustee, family relationships are often strained if others feel less favored or left out, and the family member serving may feel burdened by the role. Hightower Trust Company can remove that dynamic to help preserve harmony in your family.
Balancing the needs of your surviving spouse with your desire to leave assets to your children can be challenging, as your loved ones are likely to have unforeseen and often competing needs. When either your spouse or your children serve in the role of trustee, the needs of the person serving can be prioritized intentionally or unintentionally above the needs the other. Hightower Trust Company has the fiduciary duty to consider the needs of all beneficiaries objectively and to act impartially according to the terms of your trust.
If you have accumulated significant wealth, your assets may have management, legal or tax needs that are outside the expertise of your family members, or your family members may not have the time to take on significant additional responsibilities. Hightower Trust Company has the resources, experience and expertise to manage your assets professionally so your family can enjoy the benefits of your trust without the management burden.
When an individual serving as trustee is also a beneficiary of your trust, divorcing spouses and creditors may be able to access trust assets more easily by arguing that the trust assets are under the beneficiary’s control. When Hightower Trust Company is given appropriate discretion, it is much more difficult for litigants to access the assets of your trust.
Certain types of trusts require that someone other than the grantor or beneficiaries serves as trustee of the trust in order to take advantage of favorable tax laws. Appointing Hightower Trust Company as trustee can help ensure that the tax objectives of your trust are preserved, often resulting in substantial savings that is ultimately passed on to your beneficiaries.