You want to provide for your heirs and protect what you’ve spent a lifetime building. So how can you help ensure that your wishes will be honored?
With our comprehensive range of fiduciary and trust services and a deep commitment to carrying on your legacy, we can create custom strategies for retaining your wealth, and deliver dedicated resources for disbursing your wealth.
Estate Settlement Essentials
How to navigate the settlement process for executors and trustees.
Do you need a trust?
In contrast to a will, a living, revocable trust may provide benefits such as:
- Potential probate avoidance, which may allow for more privacy and ease of administration upon death
- Assistance if you become unable to manage your finances
Which type of trustee is right for you?
Your trustee has the fiduciary duty, legal authority, and responsibility to ensure that your plan is implemented correctly, so choosing the right one is crucial. But do you need an individual trustee, a corporate trustee, or both?
An individual trustee may be appropriate if:
- Your beneficiaries will benefit from a close relationship with the trustee
- A trust asset, such as a family business, requires specialized knowledge
A corporate trustee may be appropriate if:
- The trustee must have specialized asset management experience
- Your trust is complex, longer term, and/or multi-generational
- An available individual may suffer adverse tax consequences or a conflict of interest as a result of serving as trustee
A combination of the two may be appropriate to provide the personalized family knowledge of an individual trustee with the professional expertise of a corporate trustee.
Why choose a Corporate Trustee?
To make sure your trust reflects your values and lessens the burden on your loved ones, Wells Fargo Bank can serve as the corporate trustee of your personal trust.
With extensive experience in managing a variety of assets and different types of trusts, our fiduciary professionals act as objective agents and have specialized knowledge in many critical areas, including taxation, law, accounting, and real estate.
If you become incapacitated, we can step in and help in a variety of different ways, including:
- Facilitating insurance benefits
- Maintaining accurate accounting and record keeping
- Notifying banks, brokerages, and other institutions
- Transacting business as necessary
- Assembling a team of advisors
And when you pass away, we can assume responsibility as your corporate trustee to implement your plan and:
- Inform your beneficiaries
- Inventory your assets and determine fair market value
- Make any partial distributions that are required
- Collect your benefits such as Social Security
