When you go to a party or an event, as soon as you walk in most of the time you will scan the room to see if you know anyone else in attendance. Why? Because we are all more comfortable talking to people that we already know; you know what to expect and about how the conversation will go. One thing that we try to do at Legacy Trust is get to know our clients – not just who you are on paper and your investment needs and goals, but what is happening in your life. It makes it much easier to enjoy my job when I am working for a person that I know, rather than a faceless name. I like knowing that I am serving real people.
What type of information is helpful for me, or someone serving in a similar role? Well, if Legacy Trust is managing your assets, we need to know what your cash needs are . . . and that opens up a whole can of worms. You likely use outside funds to pay for your basic living needs, but do you have a big home improvement project coming up that will need additional cash? Or do you have a child or grandchild starting college that you want to provide tuition payments for? Or will you be retiring in the near future? All of these things will impact how your assets are invested – we do not plan for the short term, we have a 5+ year plan for your assets.
If we are managing a trust during your lifetime that you have created, who we want to get to know depends on who the beneficiaries are. Where the beneficiaries are at the discretion of the trustee (ex. charitable trusts), we want to know more about you! What was your intent in creating this trust, are there any organizations that you want excluded, or any particular purposes you would like to see served? If the beneficiary is a person that has special needs, we want to meet that person and get to know him/her and what he/she can do, and what he/she needs help with. If the beneficiaries are your children and grandchildren (and yet to be born grandchildren), we of course want to know as much about them that we can, but also what your hopes and ambitions for them are. Your trust is your legacy and your trustee should know what you intended!
Finally, if you have named Legacy Trust as the successor trustee we would love the opportunity to meet all present and future beneficiaries. Why? Because we really don’t want the first meeting we have with your loved ones to be after your passing, when they are grieving. If we know who your beneficiaries are from the time you name us, and we are able to meet with you and them and get to know where they live and what is going on in their lives, it makes the transition much more seamless.
If you are looking for real people that really care about you and yours, please give us a call and the chance to get to know you.