Personal Trust

The challenge of finding the right trustee starts with identifying a trust company that provides responsive and practical solutions to suit your needs. We manage every aspect of trust services, from estate planning to settlement and conservatorships. The First American Trust strategy is to have a seasoned administrator, portfolio manager and real estate professional work directly with each client. Our clients enjoy one of the best client to administrator ratios in the industry.

    Trust Expertise

First American Trust serves as a trusted advisor to our clients in addition to administering their trust assets. We consider the unique and personal issues of each client and adhere to the highest standards of loyalty, impartiality, and confidentiality in carrying out the terms of the trust. First American Trust is chartered as a Federal Savings Bank with the Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS) and is a Registered Investment Advisor with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

We recognize that there are rarely simple answers in managing a trust relationship. First American Trust works on a collaborative basis with legal, accounting, and professional advisors to assure that all aspects of trust administration, from estate planning to settlement to conservatorships, are performed in an accurate and responsive manner. Click here to learn more about trusts and estate planning.

    Estate Administration

Estate administration can be complex, time consuming, and frustrating. It is often a source of conflict within a family. Our experienced and objective team of estate managers works with our clients and their advisors to develop and implement personalized estate plans. While we do not act as attorney for our clients, based on years of experience working with the local legal community, we can recommend competent counsel to help clients achieve their objectives.

    Financial Planning

The First American Trust Planning Services Program proactively provides extended levels of financial services and planning on a tailored basis to our clients. A dedicated financial planning team works in concert with our clients’ existing trusted legal advisors and tax service providers to facilitate ongoing planning communications and information flow. Click here to download our new client Financial Planning Information Kit.

    Fiduciary Real Estate

Although real estate is often the most significant and complicated asset in a trust, many trust companies are unwilling to accept responsibility for accounts that require management of income-producing or investment real estate. Unlike our competitors, First American Trust offers its clients comprehensive real estate management services. And because we have an income-based fee structure for managing income-producing property, our compensation is typically based on the amount of real estate revenue we generate for our clients, rather than on asset value.

    Fiduciary Business Services

Many of our clients have structured assets within business entities such as family limited partnerships, limited liability companies, or investment holding corporations. This affords flexibility for tax and family transfer planning and can provide additional levels of asset protection. While there are numerous complexities associated with the management of these types of entities, the goal of First American Trust is to oversee the continuation of a profitable business, as appropriate, rather than defaulting to a liquidation strategy.