Estate & Trust Services

“The advisor that I had with Blue Trust was great. He just organized things. He started talking about the ways that we could deal with real estate, we could deal with trusts, we could deal with how we’re going to distribute things with the kids, and just talked us through those things.”

– Tom A. *
Stanfield, NC

Be sure you know the condition of your flocks, give careful attention to your herds.

Proverbs 27:23

Personal Trust

Putting Your Interests First

Individuals often name a close friend or family member as trustee for their personal trusts, but this role requires unique knowledge and an understanding of probate laws. We work with you and your attorney to guide you through the process of creating a trust that can be administered as you intended and in your loved one’s best interests. We focus on understanding each client’s unique financial situation and goals, ensuring that the advice and strategies offered are tailored to meet their distinct needs.

Roles We Can Fulfill:

  • Sole trustee, co-trustee, or successor trustee for revocable, irrevocable, and charitable trusts
  • Conservator to manage assets for minors or incapacitated adults under court direction
  • Agent for fiduciary
  • Investment manager

Services We Provide:

  • Estate and Trust Planning and Administration
  • Investment Management
  • Retirement and Tax Planning 1
  • Trustee IRA Administration
  • Irrevocable Life Insurance Trusts
  • Bill Pay for Beneficiaries

1 Blue Trust coordinates planning with the client’s accountant and attorney to maximize tax benefits available to the client

Meet the Team

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Christopher-Carlson

Chris Carlson, CFP®

Chief Fiduciary Officer

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Brandi Hett, JD

Sr. Trust Advisor

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Colleen Jowers, CFP®

Colleen Jowers, CFP®

Sr. Trust Advisor

Estate Administration & Settlement

Safeguarding Your Goals for Future Generations

Estate administration and settlement involves locating and marshaling assets of the deceased, paying off debts, and distributing the remaining assets according to the decedent’s wishes. For those named to serve as personal representative or trustee of an estate, this process can be burdensome amidst the grief they are experiencing, and it can be difficult to manage the personal relationships.

Blue Trust’s experienced estate settlement team can fulfill this role for your estate, a loved one’s estate, or assist an appointed trustee or personal representative in the duties of this role.

Roles We Can Fulfill:

  • Sole trustee, co-trustee, or successor trustee for revocable, irrevocable, charitable, and special needs trusts
  • Executor, personal representative
  • Conservator and guardian of estates to manage assets for minors or incapacitated adults under court direction
  • Assist individuals in serving as trustee, executor, or personal representative

Services We Provide:

  • Cash management and bill payment
  • Distributions to beneficiaries
  • Consolidated asset reporting and record-keeping
  • Portfolio creation and prudent investment management

Meet the Team

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Stefanie Leighter

Stefanie Leighter

Sr. Estate Settlement Officer

Estate Planning

Estate Plans Are Built During Your Lifetime

Estate planning includes building an estate during your lifetime with the goal of ensuring that the assets in your estate are stewarded in a manner that meets your goals and objectives and will be passed to your beneficiaries in a thoughtful way. It allows you the opportunity to preserve and control the purpose and distribution of your wealth during life and at death.

Guided and assisted by your Blue Trust advisor, you can create a strategy for your estate and legacy plan that is designed to empower subsequent generations and reflect your values and principles.

The estate planning process can provide you with many benefits, including:

  • A plan to distribute your wealth according to your most important goals.
  • Assurance that your beneficiaries will be cared for by the people you choose.
  • Document a “snapshot” of the existing estate plan to provide a foundation for making updates and for future planning.
  • A charitable giving strategy and tactics for design, implementation, and administration of the strategy.
  • A plan that creates tax efficiency in distributing your assets, both from an income tax and estate tax perspective.
  • A plan that is regularly reviewed and adjusted as circumstances change.
  • A plan that is flexible and contemplates financial and life events (i.e., marriages of children, addition of grandchildren, changes in net worth, sale of a business, desired amounts to family, etc.).
  • Alignment of your legal documents with your wishes to help your family organize and settle your estate and seamlessly transition from lifetime planning to estate administration.

Meet the Estate Planning Team

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Eric Ratliff, JD, LLM

Eric Ratliff, JD, LLM

Director, Estate & Philanthropic Planning

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Mike Bleck

Mike Bleck

Sr. Estate Planning Advisor

Philanthropic (Charitable) Trust Administration

Ensuring Your Charitable Goals Are Met During Your Lifetime and Beyond

Blue Trust has the expertise to carry out your philanthropic intent through the administration of charitable trusts and our donor-advised fund, Blue Give. Our trust administrators work with your financial advisors to ensure that your charitable goals align with your overall estate plan.

Roles We Can Fulfill:

  • Administer charitable trusts, including charitable lead and charitable remainder trusts
  • Accept current or successor role as sole trustee or co-trustee
  • Assist clients in establishing donor-advised funds through Blue Give

Services We Provide:

  • Establish professional relationships with donors and beneficiaries to ensure there is a clear understanding of the charitable trust structure.
  • Provide professional investment management to carry out provisions established in the charitable trust.
  • Align trusts with tax professionals for annual tax reporting.
  • Work with the client’s wealth advisors to ensure charitable intent is supported in their overall estate plan.

Meet the Philanthropic Team

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Meg Hoffman, CTFA

Sr. Manager, Philanthropic Trust

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Camille Stonestreet, MBA, CAMS

Sr. Trust Administrator

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Trust and investment management accounts and services offered by Blue Trust, Inc. are not insured by the FDIC or any other federal government agency, are not deposits or other obligations of, nor guaranteed by any bank or bank affiliate, and are subject to investment risk, including possible loss of the principal amount invested. CFP Board owns the certification marks CFP® and CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® in the U.S.
*The client’s experience may not be representative of the experience of other clients and is also not indicative of future performance or success.
**All financials are as of 6/30/24 and subject to change.
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