First Lawyers Trust Company understands that your financial,
tax, and estate planning clients rely on you to advise them on such
important matters as:
- Defining both short and long term financial goals
- Identifying actions that must be taken, now and in the future,
to achieve those goals
- Analyzing tax and other legal considerations that will impact
financial goals
- Identifying, analyzing, and implementing appropriate
risk-sensitive investment strategies
- Evaluating the success of specific actions and strategies, and
maintaining the discipline to adopt new plans when circumstances
change
- Recognizing that personal and family considerations comprise
the framework within which financial decisions are made
We also understand you built your client relationships on a
foundation of professional expertise, integrity, sound judgment,
and an unwavering commitment to the well-being of those you
serve. We believe that you must always remain in the
forefront of relationship management, while we deliver support
behind-the-scenes.
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The approach of First Lawyers Trust Company to technology and
operations support is not only reliable and efficient, it is cost
efficient. Our fee structure is highly competitive and
compares favorably to other corporate fiduciaries. It allows
you to weigh the expense of using our services against the costs,
managerial time, and attention you would face in maintaining your
own back office. Whether your back office is comprised of
your own employees or independent contractors, it still requires a
third party relationship for custodial and transaction processing
services.
Introducing a supportive service partner like First Lawyers
Trust Company to your clients gives you the opportunity to do what
you do best and do what provides you the best financial
return. Time you spend counseling your clients and providing
your specific professional service translates to solid fee
income. Time you spend on back office tasks diminishes the
time you could devote to serving existing clients and cultivating
new clients. In addition, your clients see you adding value
to your relationship by partnering with an efficient and
cost-effective specialist to provide administrative services.
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First Lawyers Trust Company is prepared to act in any of the
following capacities, either as an agent or directly - whether
alone or jointly with co-fiduciaries:
- Trustee of revocable and irrevocable trusts (including marital
and credit shelter trusts, Crummey trusts, life insurance
trusts, and charitable trusts)
- Trustee of structured settlement and special needs trusts
- Trustee of trusts created in connection with nonqualified
deferred compensation arrangements
- Personal representative or executor
- Conservator
- Custodian of assets, both tangible and intangible, whether held
in trust or directly by individuals or other legal entities, such
as private foundations, partnerships, or limited liability
companies
- Escrow agent for real estate and other business
transactions
Our South Dakota domicile offers certain planning opportunities
that you might conclude are advantageous to your clients.
Principal among them are the following:
- South Dakota does not tax either ordinary income or capital
gains
- Self-settled asset protection trusts are statutorily
permitted
- The rule against perpetuities has been statutorily
repealed
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First Lawyers Trust Company is lawyer owned and managed.
Our board of directors and senior management are lawyers. We
understand and respect your client relationships and know our job
is to administer your clients' assets in accordance with their
wishes and the terms of governing legal documents. We stand
ready to provide the following services to you and your clients
through our team of seasoned fiduciary professionals:
- Customized periodic statements and other reports
- Consolidated reporting of multiple accounts
- Income and principal accounting
- Investment performance reporting
- Income projections
- Statements of capital gains and losses
- Tax lot accounting
- Brokerage commission reports
- Preparation of Forms 1099 and K-1
- Preparation of fiduciary income tax, as well as estate and gift
tax returns
- Scheduled and on-request remittances
- Plans of division in connection with partial or complete
termination of trusts
- Automated collection and posting of interest and dividends
- Settlement of investment trades
- Processing of transactions involving mutual funds and other
pooled investment vehicles
- Disposition of corporate actions
- Gift processing
- Daily cash sweep
- Internet account access
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First Lawyers Trust Company respects the expertise and track
records of the wide array of investment managers whose services are
critical to successfully navigating today's complex and challenging
economic and financial conditions. We do not interfere with
established investment management relationships. We
collaborate with investment managers by providing state-of-the-art
support for transaction processing and performance reporting.
We participate in the investment process as an independent and
objective fiduciary by working with lawyers and other trusted
advisors to identify and support investment strategies best suited
to meet client needs. Our custodial and reporting
capabilities allow us to play an effective and efficient role in
developing, implementing, and monitoring those strategies.
First Lawyers Trust Company works collaboratively with large and
small investment managers, regardless of where they are
located. We are equipped to handle portfolios comprised of
individual equities and debt instruments, as well as those
comprised of mutual funds, exchange traded funds, and other pooled
investment vehicles. We are able to provide assistance in
identifying and selecting investment managers. While that
process could entail introducing you to our affiliate, Peak Asset
Management, as well as other investment managers with whom we are
familiar, we neither accept nor receive compensation for making
referrals. First Lawyers does not provide investment
management services, and we do not sell mutual funds, life
insurance, annuities, or any other investment products.
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First Lawyers Trust Company understands one our duties as a
fiduciary is to respect the confidentiality of information you and
your clients share with us. Confidential information includes
not only sensitive financial, personal, and legal matters we
encounter in the ordinary course of providing financial services,
but also the identity of your clients. We employ rigorous
administrative and technology-based processes to guard against
disclosure of confidential information. Under no
circumstances do we sell or otherwise make available the names and
addresses of your clients to third party vendors.
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