The Situation

The trust will be distributed to more than 12 beneficiaries, ranging in age from 18 to 70. The family needs help with:

• Re-aligning investments with a focus on tax efficiency. The trust is heavily concentrated in stock positions with substantial gains, necessitating professional tax management and rebalancing the portfolio for subsequent distributions.
• Transparent communication. Some of the beneficiaries have concerns about the process and involvement of other family members.
• Family education. Many of the beneficiaries have never managed wealth and need guidance for proper long-term planning.
   

Boston Private Solution

Boston Private began active management of the trust assets in order to transition the assets in the most tax-efficient manner possible. After consulting with family members regarding their short and long-term priorities, Boston Private began rebalancing the trust portfolio to align with the goals of the beneficiaries and eliminated over-concentrated stock positions in the process.

Boston Private coordinated a family meeting with all beneficiaries to: clearly explain its work, outline next steps in the process, and address any questions or concerns. As part of the family meeting, Boston Private provided each individual with a trust binder containing important information about the trust structure, the investment strategy, and the expected future income and principal distributions.    As a result, the trust is currently managed in closer alignment with the beneficiaries’ collective short and long-term goals, leveraging a wider range of asset classes to meet those goals. The thoughtful transition included effective tax planning which reduced the tax impact for the beneficiaries. Boston Private helped the beneficiaries attain a greater understanding of the trust assets, how they are managed, and what their estimated income distributions are likely to be.