By naming Merchants Bank in a fiduciary capacity such as trustee, personal representative, and/or attorney-in-fact, we can manage all the details including asset consolidation, investment management, bill payment, and the court probate process, if needed. This gives you peace of mind, maintains family harmony, removes conflicts of interest, and ensures that your wishes are carried out.
As Trust and Fiduciary professionals, we are familiar with the many forms trusts may take and can serve as trustee for you and your family through:
- Revocable Trusts allow for the trustor to make changes or even terminate the trust as needed while the trustor is alive. In addition to ensuring that your wishes are carried out upon death or incapacity, other benefits include privacy, ease of administration, probate avoidance, and potential tax planning.
- Irrevocable Trusts typically cannot be changed or terminated. Assets included in the trust are essentially no longer owned by the trustor. Benefits include asset preservation, probate avoidance, and various tax benefits.
- Charitable Trusts are a type of irrevocable trust that directs your assets to benefit a charity or nonprofit. The trust covers how your assets will be distributed between your beneficiaries and charity of choice. In addition to ensuring that your charitable intentions are carried out, other benefits include providing an income stream and potential tax planning.
- Insurance Trusts are a type of irrevocable trust that typically uses a life insurance policy as the main asset to help with future estate taxes. Benefits include liquidity at the time of death, asset preservation, and tax planning.
- Special and Supplemental Needs Trusts create a source of funds to provide additional services or activities for someone with a physical or mental disability. Benefits include enhancement of the beneficiary’s quality of life without interfering with his or her ability to receive public assistance or disability benefits.
