New Estate Planning Technique — Establish Trust Company to Handle Your Trusts

The following excerpts are from Rachel Emma Silverman, Matters of Trust: Super-Rich Set Up Companies, Wall St. J., Aug. 4, 2007, at B1:

It isn’t enough to have a trust fund any more. The next step is to have your own trust company.

A small but increasing number of the super rich are setting up their own trust companies — boutique trust firms owned or controlled by wealthy families themselves. Some want more say over how their trust assets are handled; others want to consolidate a bunch of family trusts under one umbrella.

This isn’t a game for the average trust-fund baby. Families typically should have at least $100 million to set one up, and most that do have at least $250 million. Experts estimate there are only a couple hundred private trust companies in the U.S.

Special thanks to Prof. Joel C. Dobris of the University of California-Davis for bringing this development to my attention.