Trust & Estate Services
The primary aim of trust services and estate planning is ensuring that your wealth is eventually distributed according to your wishes. Individually tailored trusts enhance your overall investment program. Both revocable and irrevocable trusts offer flexibility in safeguarding and managing assets now and in the future.
Providing for the next generation—leaving a lasting legacy—requires that you plan thoughtfully and strategically. For instance‚ avoiding unnecessary taxation requires planning‚ but ensuring that your final wishes regarding your wealth are accommodated is a matter of extreme trust.
We focus on building trusting relationships with clients. Such a relationship is often perpetual in design‚ to accommodate a commitment such as a family’s continued support of a charitable cause. Trust extends to the investment management activities required to ensure the completion of specific wishes‚ including settling your estate.
Our estate settlement professionals work with objectivity and sensitivity to ensure that your estate is settled according to your wishes while conforming to the highest legal standards required of a corporate fiduciary.
A Living Trust‚ for example‚ helps to protect assets while you are living‚ provides a means for their later distribution‚ and the privacy you need.
Trusts also allow you to safely provide gifts to minors who may need assistance with money management and have long been used as a way to avoid unnecessary taxation.
Our Trust Services Include:
Investment Management Services
For both individuals and institutions‚ we offer disciplined investment management that is consistent with client objectives. Community Trust and Investment Company ensures this consistency through active portfolio management with a preference for individual securities. The client has online access to his/her account information‚ which is updated daily. The portfolio manager and administrative officer conduct regular meetings with the client to review performance and to confirm that the objectives are being met. Investment Management Services include:
- Active asset allocation
- Rigorous fundamental analysis of security selection
- Disciplined‚ opportunistic investing
- Taxable and tax-advantaged portfolio management
- Performance measurement
Fiduciary Services
Fiduciary services are a core business at Community Trust and Investment Company. We act as trustee or co-trustee to assure reliable trust administration. Fiduciary services include:
- Administer trust according to terms of document
- Establish an investment objective
- Maintain custody of trust assets
- Provide detailed accounting and reporting
- Prepare fiduciary tax returns
Estate Administration Services
In serving as executor‚ co-executor‚ or personal representative‚ Community Trust and Investment Company provides the following services:
- Collect and secure estate’s assets
- Appraise the estate’s assets
- Notify creditors and pay debts
- Collect money owed the estate
- Manage estate’s assets (real estate‚ securities‚ family-owned business)
- Keep detailed records of all transactions
- Submit reports to beneficiaries and probate court
- Choose tax year for the estate
- Complete and file income and estate tax returns
- Distribute estate’s assets to beneficiaries
Quick LInks
- Investment Approach
- Trust & Estate
- Retirement & IRA
- Community Trust Financial Services Brokerage and Insurance Services
We administer the following type of accounts:
- Revocable Living Trust (also known as an Inter Vivos Trust)
A trust created during the grantor’s lifetime, which becomes effective during the grantor’s lifetime as opposed to at grantor’s death. During the life of the trust, income earned is distributed to the grantor, and only after death does property transfer to the beneficiaries, outright or in trust. It can be amended or terminated during the grantor’s lifetime. It is private and confidential, avoiding public probate. - Irrevocable Living Trust
A trust which by its terms (1) cannot be canceled by the grantor or (2) can be terminated by the grantor only with the consent of someone who has an adverse interest in the trust. This trust is designed to financially protect and/or provide for beneficiaries (commonly family or charities) designated by the grantor for a specified period of time. - Testamentary Trust (also known as a Trust Under Will)
A trust created by a valid Will, to become effective only on the death of the testator. This trust is designed for the same purposes as an irrevocable living trust. However, unlike the irrevocable living trust, it does not become effective until the death of the testator, provide privacy, or avoid probate. - Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust
An irrevocable trust created to own life insurance on the life of the grantor. Its purpose is to provide liquidity for the grantor’s estate and to replace estate taxes owed by the grantor’s estate. - Charitable Remainder Trust
A tax-exempt irrevocable trust designed to reduce the taxable income of individuals by first dispersing income to the beneficiaries of the trust for a specified period of time and then donating the remainder of the trust to the designated charity. - Charitable Lead Trust
A trust designed to reduce beneficiaries’ taxable income by first donating a portion of the trust’s income to charities and then, after a specified period of time, transferring the remainder of the trust to the beneficiaries. - Special Needs Trust
A trust created by a grantor for the benefit of a person receiving public benefits to provide for that person’s additional needs that are not covered by public benefits. The trustee has complete discretion in making distributions to or for the beneficiary; however, the trustee must be extremely careful that any distributions from the trust do not result in the beneficiary’s loss of public benefits assistance. - Conservatorship
An account in which the court declares an individual unable to take care of financial matters and appoints another individual or financial institution, known as a conservator, to do so.