In early 2021, The Chicago Trust Company took on a client with a trust totaling $48 million from an attorney with whom the team had a longstanding relationship. The client was previously working with another financial institution that wasn’t giving her the attention or the results she was seeking, and was neglecting her attorneys’ concerns regarding estate tax considerations.

The Chicago Trust Company met with the client’s attorneys and accountants to gain a solid understanding of the issues at play, then got to work on a solution. The process began by listening – to the client’s concerns and hopes for the trust, the attorney’s mandatories, and the specifications of the accounting team and outside investment counsel – to accommodate all parties and meet the needs of the client. 

“For this relationship, we are collaborating with attorneys a lot so we can consider tax laws in our planning and execute expeditiously,” said Mary Ann Korenic, CEO of The Chicago Trust Company. “For us, the key is flexibility. We want to work with who clients trust. We don’t extract established relationships – those partners are of value to us, and we want to work to become part of the team.”

Immediately, the client could see a difference in the way their trust was being managed thanks to The Chicago Trust Company’s collaborative approach. This led to an offsite meeting, which left all parts of the relationship better connected and united in vision.

With a trust of this size, there were complex tax plans to consider, requiring The Chicago Trust Company team to get creative in exercising its discretion. By consulting and collaborating with the client’s team of advisors, they developed a viable alternative solution – a tax plan that not only involved the distribution of $11 million and met the parameters of the trust document, but also incorporated the transfer of a $400,000 annual gift from the client’s personal fund to the trust.

“We were able to accommodate the gifting involved in the trust, while other institutions wouldn’t even consider it,” Korenic said. “To come up with a plan and deliver a solution that alleviated the client’s concerns was very rewarding. It was a great day to call her and let her know we were able to make it all work.”

By calling upon the depth and variety of experience across the organization, The Chicago Trust Company leveraged its collective wealth of knowledge in the trust space to make swift decisions and provide a thoughtful recommendation that went above and beyond for the client and formed a valuable relationship.

“This experience is representative of our ideal working situation,” Korenic said. “The way we’ve been able to collaborate across parties for the greater good of the client we all serve is a blueprint for how strong partnerships should work.”

Learn more about how The Chicago Trust Company can develop a comprehensive solution for any size trust you represent by clicking here or requesting an appointment today.