Trusts & Estate Planning

Heritage has expertise in structuring a number of trust strategies, which may include one or more of the following types of trusts.

Common Estate Planning Documents and Terms

1. Last Will and Testament – The Last Will and Testament appoints an Executor who will gather the assets of the decedent, file the appropriate forms with the Probate Court, inventory and preserve the Estate, pay all required debts and expenses and distribute the Estate assets per the decedent’s instructions. Many Last Wills include a pour-over provision to an existing or standby Revocable Living Trust, which, unlike a Last Will, is never made public. When the Last Will “pours-over” into a Trust, the terms of your Estate Plan can be more confidential and the Trust can provide flexibility to weather unforeseen financial and personal events by making Trust assets immediately available to meet compelling spending and investment needs.
2. Revocable Living Trust – A Revocable Trust is created while you are alive and used to provide overall management of stocks, bonds, real estate, a family business, mineral rights, and other special holdings.  Because it is created while you are alive, the Trust can provide discretion to manage your assets for both preservation and profit, and divide the Trust as intended among your beneficiaries.  In many states, the Trust is a valuable tool to avoid probate and the associated costs.
3. Irrevocable Trust – An Irrevocable Trust is often created to control the distribution of cash flow or assets over time or to achieve certain tax outcomes. An irrevocable trust may be created while you are alive or created under the terms of a will. Irrevocable trusts can prove effective in preserving assets, protecting loved ones and maintaining family financial and tax objectives.
4. Estate Tax Exemption and Marital Trust Provisions – Every Estate Plan should provide a strategy for wealthy individuals and couples facing possible Estate Tax liability to segregate the unlimited marital deduction from the Estate Tax exempt share, reduce the total Estate Tax due, and use the step-up in basis appropriately to reduce built in capital gains. 
5. Charitable Trust – Philanthropic families can obtain income or Estate Tax advantages, provide or retain income or beneficial interest in gifted assets, and still meet their charitable gifting goals using a Charitable Remainder Trust, Charitable Lead Trust, Charitable Gift Annuity and/or a Private Foundation. 
6. Special Needs Trust – Many families include one or more members that currently require or may one day require public assistance services with income and resource qualification limits. A Special Needs Trust would allow such a family member to receive a settlement or inheritance without disrupting his or her ability to qualify for essential services. Read more about this type of trust on our Special Needs Trusts page.

Estate Settlement Services

An executor (sometimes called a personal representative) is named in a Will and appointed by the Court. Executors are given the legal responsibility and authority to take care of all of a deceased person’s affairs such as overseeing the collection, valuation, security and disposition of property and possessions as well as the payment of required debts and expenses. A private trust company like Heritage Trust is uniquely suited to settle estates in a prompt, professional and thoughtful manner. Heritage Trust provides a deceased person’s beneficiaries stability and understanding in a compassionate way while also carrying out the deceased person’s wishes with expertise, professionalism and impartiality.