Trust and Estate Planning

As families think about protecting their assets and ensuring their legacy, it becomes clearer how trusts and estate planning are essential. From understanding the various vehicles of wealth transfer strategies to trustee selection and trust structures and compliance, families can facilitate a more harmonious and purposeful transfer of both wealth and, importantly, family values. 

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Curated Resources and Best Practices 

For members of the FOX community, the curated resources here are part of the Trust and Estate Planning Toolkit—which includes a brief overview and access link for each listed resource—that can be downloaded for future reference and further review with your family members and trusted advisors.

Wealth Transfer Strategies

• The Basics of Estate Planning 
• Transfer Wealth Purposefully with a Statement of Intent 
• Family Inheritance: Does Fair Mean Equal? 
• Jurisdiction Comparison for Wealth Transfer Planning 
• The Uncertainty of TCJA: Navigating Estate Planning in a Changing Landscape (webcast)
• Trust Mapping or Estate Distribution Overview Best Practices 
• Annuity Payment Analysis for Grantor Retained Annuity Trusts 
• The Joys of Home Ownership: Balancing Financial Support and Tax Consequences with Real Estate Wealth Transfer Strategies 
• Digital Assets: An Essential Component of your Estate Plan (with video) 
• What to Know About Managing Digital Accounts at Death 
• Handle with Care: Planning for the Fragile Beneficiary 

Trustee Selection Process

• Selecting the Modern Trustee 
• Navigating Trustee Selection 
• Who Can I Trust to Be My Trustee (plus video) 

Trustee and Beneficiary Duties

• You've Been Asked to Be a Trustee 
• How to Mitigate Trustee Liability (video) 
• Top 4 Mistakes Family Trustees Make 
• Understanding Your Role as a Trustee for Your Family 
• Protecting Yourself When Serving as a Family Trustee 
• The Risks of Serving as an Amateur Trustee for Your Family 

Trust Structures

• Private Trust Company Overview 
• An Overview of Trusts & Trustees 
• Private Trust Company Leading Practices: Designing a Governance Structure 
• Considerations to Organizing a Private Family Trust Company 
• Private Trust Companies: A Practical Introduction to a Bespoke Solution 
• Architecting Trust Documents to Reinforce the Family Vision and Well-Being (podcast) 
• The Entrepreneur's Trust 
• Could You Benefit from a Spousal Lifetime Access Trust? 
• Collective Investment Trusts and Good Governance Considerations 
• Flexible Trusts to Deal with Future Uncertainties 
• WING Trusts 
• Excellent Opportunity: The Modern Dynasty Trust / Family Bank 
• Dynasty Trusts 

Trust Administration and Compliance

• Foreign Trusts: U.S. Taxpayer Nightmares and How to Avoid Them 
• A Comparison of State PTC Laws 
• Three Essential Checklists for Running an Irrevocable Trust 
• Chartered Family Trust Company Considerations and Processes 

Estate Settlement and Probate

• Protecting Families As They Divide Estates and Personal Property (podcast) 
• Conducting an Estate Settlement Fire Drill - What Should Be on Your Checklist? (webcast)
• Is Your Family's Planning Actually Ready for an Unanticipated Incapacity or Death?  

Trust and Estate Planning Templates and Workshop

• FOX Member Templates, including trust administration tools and samples to help meet your trust and estate planning needs.
   
• See the 2025 agenda from the FOX Trustees and Beneficiaries Workshop designed to help trustees and beneficiaries be better prepared for their roles in an informed and confident way. For future workshop dates, contact FOX to learn more about the opportunity that is recommended for trustees serving as fiduciaries for family trusts and the beneficiaries of the family trusts. 

For more expert insights and guidance on other topics of interest, explore the full collection of Resource Toolkits and the Recommended Books.