by Ethan S. Braid, CFA | Dec 25, 2025 | Blog, Estate Planning
What is it really like to be a trustee? How much time will it take? What are my legal requirements and responsibilities? I have been in wealth management for over 25 years and have helped dozens of families with their trust planning. I have been a trustee myself for...
by Ethan S. Braid, CFA | Jun 6, 2025 | Blog, Estate Planning
You have done well in life and have a lot of assets. In your estate plan, you created trusts for your kids, but you are not sure how to talk about it with them. Do not worry, you are not alone. Many wealthy families avoid discussing trusts with their kids because they...
by Ethan S. Braid, CFA | May 10, 2025 | Blog, Estate Planning
A spousal lifetime access trust (SLAT) is an effective tool for saving money on estate taxes. When a SLAT trust is created, one spouse is the trust grantor, and the other is the beneficiary. The grantor spouse gifts assets to the irrevocable SLAT trust and files a...
by Ethan S. Braid, CFA | Apr 24, 2025 | Blog, Estate Planning
A pour-over will with a testamentary trust should never be used as your primary estate planning document. A pour-over will is an estate planning tool that directs your assets to be put into your trust after you die. You can use a pour-over will to fund a testamentary...
by Ethan S. Braid, CFA | Apr 18, 2025 | Blog, Estate Planning, Fiduciary Standard, Retirement Planning
Have you been managing the family wealth yourself for a long time and your spouse is either not interested or not capable of managing the investments if you are gone? Do you fear that your spouse might be taken advantage of by an unscrupulous financial salesperson?...
