America’s Most Advisor-Friendly Trust Companies Showcase - Flipbook - Page 19
2026 ADVISOR-FRIENDLY TRUST COMPANIES
THE NEXT-GENERATION
CONVERSATION
The most underutilized aspect of trust
planning in most advisory practices is
also the most strategically valuable:
the relationship it creates with the next
generation. A trust structure that names
a corporate trustee and preserves the
investment management relationship
with the existing advisor doesn’t just
protect the assets. It creates a structural
reason for the advisor to meet,
communicate with, and gradually build
a relationship with the heirs before the
wealth transfer happens.
Most advisors treat heir relationships as
something to pursue after the original
client dies. By then, it is almost always
too late. The heirs have their own
financial relationships, their own instincts,
and no particular reason to feel loyalty
to someone they encountered twice at
holiday dinners. The advisor who has
been present in the trust administration
for years, who the heirs have come to
associate with competence and genuine
care, occupies a different position.
This is not complicated to execute.
It requires being intentional about it.
Ask your trust company partner to
include heirs in distribution discussions
where appropriate. Make sure the
heirs know who you are and what
role you play. When the original client
is comfortable with it, bring the next
generation into planning conversations
early. The trust is the mechanism
that makes the relationship structural
rather than accidental. Without it,
generational continuity depends on
the heirs’ goodwill. With it, you’ve built
something that doesn’t require their
goodwill to survive.
THE MARKETING DIMENSION
Fewer than 10% of advisors actively
incorporate trust capabilities into their
marketing and client communications.
This is a significant missed opportunity
on two levels. It distinguishes those
who do from the large majority who
don’t. And it reframes how prospects
and clients think about what the advisor
actually does.
An advisor who communicates openly
about working with trust companies
positions themselves as a long-term
wealth steward rather than a portfolio
manager. The implicit message is
powerful: this advisor thinks in decades,
not quarters. They are oriented toward
protecting and transmitting wealth
across generations, not just growing it
year to year. For high-net-worth clients
who care about legacy, that framing
resonates in a way that performance
charts never quite do.
The marketing doesn’t require technical
complexity. A client newsletter article
explaining what an advisor-friendly trust
company is and why the distinction
matters. A short piece on the difference
between directed and delegated
trusts. A case study, appropriately
anonymized, that illustrates what a
multigenerational planning engagement
actually looks like in practice. Most
WHICH TRUSTS MAKE SENSE?
SUGGEST THIS
TRUST TYPE . . .
. . . FOR THIS
PLANNING NEED
ASSET PROTECTION
Reduce vulnerability to legal
and creditor claims
DYNASTY
Provide truly long-term
succession
CRT
Generate current income and a
charitable bequest later
SPENDTHRIFT
Prevent heirs from gaining
direct access to funds
QTIP
Give surviving spouse support
before children inherit
GRAT
Provide grantor with
income from assets
GST
Avoid triggering
generation-skipping tax
ILIT
Hold life insurance to pay
estate tax or other liabilities
CRUMMEY
Preserve lifetime
gift tax exclusion
SPECIAL NEEDS
Provide support for a disabled
relative or loved one
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