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Planning Trust Administration to Avoid ConflictPlanning Trust Administration to Avoid Conflict

Insights and best practices for individual trustees

21 Min Read
Planning Trust Administration to Avoid Conflict

In wealth management, the trust is the most common structure used to realize our widely recognized and accepted freedom of disposition. Within broad parameters, the law of trusts allows the grantor to set forth a private law that both permits and restricts the use of property for the benefit of two or more people, either simultaneously or in succession.  

Therein lies potential for disagreements about “who gets how much and when”—disputes that may morph into conflicts and even lawsuits. Whatever benefits the trust provides—tax, asset protection or otherwise—conflict can offset those gains and impose a burden on the management of the wealth subject to the trust. As a matter of best practice, every trust should have an administration plan d...

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About the Authors

Joseph C. Mahon

Partner, Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz PC

Joseph C. Mahon is a partner in the Estate Planning and Administration Group of Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz PC in New York. Mr. Mahon advises high net-worth individuals, including corporate executives and business and real estate owners, assisting clients in identifying and implementing their estate planning goals. Mr. Mahon has prepared estate plans and administered estates with assets ranging from modest levels to amounts in excess of $100 million.Mr. Mahon has lectured frequently on estate planning for The New York City Bar, the New Jersey Institute for Continuing Legal Education, the New Jersey Society of Certified Public Accountants, the Princeton Bar Association, and other organizations.
 

Patricia M. Angus

Founder & CEO, Angus Advisory Group LLC

http://www.angusadvisorygroup.com/

Patricia Angus, JD, MIA, TEP, is Founder and CEO of Angus Advisory Group LLC, and an Adjunct Professor at Columbia University. A recognized thought leader in multi-generational family governance and wealth, she has advised families with businesses, trusts, and charitable foundations for more than two decades. 

 

Ms. Angus helps clients navigate some of life's most complex issues, through critical analysis, strategic planning, and compassionate guidance. She practiced law at trusts and estates boutique Hughes and Whitaker (now Day Pitney) and Coudert Brothers international law firm (now Baker & McKenzie).  She served as Principal and Chief Wealth Advisory Officer of Shelterwood Financial Services LLC and Family Wealth Advisor at GenSpring and JP Morgan Private Bank. 

 

Ms. Angus launched the Family Enterprise and Wealth MBA course at Columbia Business School, and writes the "Building Bridges" column on www.wealthmanagement.com. She is a member of the Carter Center Planned Giving Advisory Council and the Editorial Advisory Board of Trusts & Estates.  She served on the New York Women's Foundation Allocations Committee and Citizens Committee for Children of New York's Advocacy Council. She has written numerous articles on topics including family wealth, businesses, trusts, estate planning, philanthropy, and women's issues, and frequently speaks at industry and family events. Ms. Angus has been named one of the Top 50 Women in Wealth Management by Wealth Manager, a Rising Star by Private Asset Management, and twice named in the Top 100 North American Wealth Advisers by City Wealth.  She received a B.A. cum laude from Amherst College, a Masters in International Affairs from Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs, and a J.D. from George Washington University Law School.