Through the use of trusts you can help to protect your accumulated wealth for yourself and spouse, children, other family and organizations you may want to benefit.
A trustee may perform a wide range of tasks – from managing a child’s education trust to distributing money on behalf of an incapacitated family member to administering a charitable trust. That’s why it’s critical to choose a trustee that has integrity and the expertise to properly handle all of the details necessary to ensure smooth administration.
(See “What does a trustee do?”)
Some people choose to name their spouse, a close family member or trusted friend as the trustee. (In the case of a revocable living trust, you can name yourself as trustee.) Or they may prefer to name an unbiased independent third party, such as a bank trust department. To review some of the most important things to consider when naming a trustee, click here.
Types of Trusts

A very common type of trust is the Living Trust. One form of that is the Revocable Living Trust, created during your lifetime for the benefit of yourself and family, and may continue on for many years. It’s called “Revocable” because you can revoke, or terminate the trust. You can also amend, or change the terms of the trust during your lifetime.

Another form of Living Trust is an Irrevocable Trust, one that you cannot change or terminate. These are useful for making larger gifts to charity or family, or in situations where you can’t keep a measure of control without risking the loss of favorable estate and income tax treatments.

The other common type of trust is the Testamentary Trust. Here, you create the trust within your Will, and name the trustee to manage the trust property for your beneficiaries after settlement of your estate.

These types of trusts can lead to useful estate planning tools where we can also serve as trustee, including:
•  Charitable Remainder Trusts
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Charitable Lead Trusts
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Grantor Retained Annuity Trusts
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Grantor Retained Unitrusts
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Marital Trusts
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Family Trusts
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Credit Shelter Trusts
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Q-Tip trusts
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Life Insurance Trusts
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Standby Trusts

If you would like to learn more about our trust administration services, please contact Clayton Apt, Trust Officer, at 309.427.6860.
NOTE: This web site is not designed to provide legal, tax or accounting advice. As a service to users, general information is provided. Contact your lawyer, tax professional or accountant for advice on your specific situation.


What does a Trustee do?
Each situation is unique, but some of the typical functions carried out by a trustee include:
• Invest and manage your trust’s assets in all market conditions.
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Maintain detailed financial records of all trust activity.
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Make periodic transaction, investment and tax reports to the beneficiaries.
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Manage real estate assets that are a part of your trust.
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Collect the income from investments, pensions and payments due to you.

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Pay bills and expenses if you are incapacitated or absent.

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Make distributions of income and principal to the trust beneficiaries according to the terms of the trust document.

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