Stable, Flexible Trustee

Stable Trustee

Clients who name Atlantic Trust as a trustee, co-trustee or successor trustee of their trusts can count on stability and permanence that individual trustees cannot match. That is especially helpful for multi-generation planning. Even if one of the professionals responsible for your trust leaves the organization, other fiduciaries can provide continuity and vigilance in managing the trust.

Education of Beneficiaries

In recent years, it has become increasingly popular to appoint beneficiaries as co-trustees for their own trusts, which we primarily oversee. This approach fosters an involvement with wealth that beneficiaries might not feel when all the control rests with a trustee. For technical reasons, these beneficiaries may be limited in participating in decisions that involve distributions to themselves. But with our tutelage, they gain a valuable education about money and responsibility.

Flexibility with Requests

Our seasoned trust officers are committed to meeting beneficiaries' needs within the parameters of what the trust allows, rather than following rigid guidelines. When exercising their discretion to distribute trust principal, members of Atlantic Trust's distribution committee meet weekly, and more often when there are emergencies, to respond to beneficiary requests. We consider:

• Whether the terms of the trust allow such a distribution
• The size of the trust
• The beneficiary’s lifestyle and spending pattern
• The frequency and magnitude of prior requests for distributions of principal

Our guiding principle is an understanding of the intention of the creator of the trust in providing for the trust beneficiaries.