How We Work with Your Trust Beneficiaries

Once you set up your trust, your focus is likely to turn to your beneficiaries — the people and causes you want your trust to support — now, soon, or way in the future.

Your trust beneficiaries tend to be the people you care about most in life. They will no doubt face countless decisions over time, many of them financial. We are here to help inform and guide each choice along the way.

For more than 50 years, Laird Norton Wealth Management (LNWM) has served as trustee for a wide variety of trusts, many of which are still going strong. We have an in-house, dedicated team focused on trust services who will work a problem until a solution is found (they do not work by the hour). Therefore, we have the luxury of time and expertise to build lasting relationships with your beneficiaries, at their comfort level.

Regardless of the type of trust you have (from a multi-generational family trust, to a charitable remainder trust or a special needs trust), here’s how we connect with your beneficiaries:

We listen, we educate, we advise

We Listen. Trust documents cannot foresee every circumstance that arises in life. At Laird Norton Wealth Management, we have a history of working closely with beneficiaries to help them make informed financial choices, and to help them to explore how their goals and aspirations can be supported by the trust.

We Educate. How long a trust lasts depends on the terms of the trust, how well the assets are managed, and the level of distributions. By helping a beneficiary develop a realistic budget, we gain an understanding of their needs and objectives. As part of our ongoing relationship, we review investment performance, discuss specific investments, and provide beneficiaries with the knowledge they need to properly maintain their finances. If things go off course, we are always here to help and restore balance.

We Advise. What if your beneficiary’s request for money from the trust is complex or requires analysis, such as asking for funds to start a business or to live overseas? Our Trust Administration Committee (TAC) — including our General Counsel, and senior client advisors and analysts — meets regularly to review and analyze non-ordinary requests and to make recommendations to the beneficiaries. We apply decades of legal and financial expertise to provide advice that is in the best interest of your beneficiaries and the intent of the trust.