The Trustee Workshop: Preparing for Duty as a Family Trustee

This day and a half workshop will provide attendees a deeper understanding of the core trustee duties and powers as well as the trustee's responsibilities for educating and mentoring the beneficiaries.

  • About
  • Agenda
  • Speakers
  • Accommodations
  • Sponsors

If you have been or will be appointed a trustee you will want to attend this day and a half workshop.  A trusteeship is a critical, active role that has significant influence on the welfare of the beneficiary and the sustainability of the assets, businesses, or properties that are in the trust. A properly prepared trustee means:

  • A well educated and adjusted beneficiary
  • Intelligently run investment and distribution strategies that fulfill the grantor's vision
  • A harmonious and constructive relationship between the trustee and beneficiary

The risk from not being fully prepared includes:

  • Conduct, intentional or not, that breaches the fiduciary dury of the trustee leading to litigation and personal liability
  • A beneficiary who lives feeling entitled to the wealth without appreciating their responsiblity to support the health of the trust for their benefit and the benefit of future generations
  • Suboptimal results of the business or investment obligations for current or future beneficiaries

Come learn from experts in the field who will provide a balanced perspective of the legal, investing, and human behavioral aspects of being a trustee.  The attendees will be comprised of your peers who are trustees or beneficiaries of family trusts.

Attendees of this workshop will learn to:
- Understand the duties and powers of a trustee
- Recognize the importance of building an effective relationship with the beneficiaries
- Differentiate between mandatory and discretionary distribution
- Manage the risks of serving as a trustee
 
Continuing Education Credits
This workshop is eligible for up to 7 CPE credits. 
 
 
Pricing
FOX Members: $1,500 
Non- Members: $1,895
Additional attendees from the same organization are eligible for a 20% discount. Contact events@familyoffice.com for more information on multiple attendances.
FOX membership is not required to participate in this workshop. 
 
 
 
Questions: email workshops@familyoffice.com or call 312.327.1231

Tuesday, November 19

7:30 a.m. 
Registration and Breakfast
 
8:00 a.m. 
Welcome and Program Introduction 
 
8:15 a.m.
What a Trustee Needs to Do
Kim Kamin, Schiff Hardin, LLP and Bill Sanderson, McGuireWoods, LLP
The trustee is the legal owner of all of the trust’s assets, investments, and businesses.  Our speakers address the many required roles and responsibilities of the trustee as a fiduciary, as a business person, and as a mentor and protector of the beneficiary.  There is a complex canon of legal responsibilities the speakers will lay out simply and discuss to enable the trustee to knowledgeably approach their duties. 
 
9:30 a.m.
Building Positive Long-Term Relationships between the Trustee and Beneficiaries
Lee Hausner, Ph.D., First Foundation Advisors
A trust is more than a legal structure or series of transactions. It sets into motion a dynamic relationship among the grantor, trustee and beneficiary. This session will examine how trustees and beneficiaries can nurture and manage that relationship for the long term.
 
10:30 a.m.
Break
 
10:45 a.m. 
Understanding Distribution Policies & Provisions
Kim Kamin, Schiff Hardin, LLP and Bill Sanderson, McGuireWoods, LLP
Two leading trust attorneys discuss the key issues related to trust distributions, including discretionary versus required distributions, the unitrust concept, and problems arising from exhausting trust assets. This session will also cover the many factors that trustees should consider when faced with requests for discretionary distributions including the reaction of other family members to the granting of discretionary distributions to a beneficiary.
 
11:45 a.m.
Lunch
 
12:45 p.m.
Prudent Investor Practices and the Prudent Investor Rule
Paul Lee, Bernstein Global Wealth Management
This session examines the evolution of fiduciary standards for the investment of trust assets and the ramifications for trustees of the Uniform Prudent Investor Act. In addition to the Prudent Investor Rule, this session highlights certain practices that can be incorporated in trust administration as best practices.
 
2:15 p.m.  Break
 
2:30 p.m.
Trustee: Honor or Risk?
Moderator: James P. Kane, CIC, CRM, HUB Personal Insurance
Panelists:  Maria Treglia, Program Brokerage Corporate, Rachel Simon and John McCall, AIG Financial Institutions Division
The role of trustee is often underestimated for its importance.  This session will cover the role of trustee liability in an effective risk management plan for professional liability.  These insurance industry experts will discuss the exposures faced by trustees.  The program also will include a review of actual claims and methods for treating the risk including loss control and financial transfer solutions. 
 
3:30 p.m.
Bringing it All Together
Wally Head, Gresham Partners, LLC
Our speaker, a licensed attorney and career-long wealth management practitioner,  will bring to life the learning from the morning and afternoon sections by demonstrating its application  through several intriguing case examples.  This will be an interactive session with attendees addressing how they would respond to these real-life situations and comparing their approach to the real outcome.  The session will conclude with attendees having the opportunity to discuss their every-day challenges for suggestions from the day’s speakers and other attendees.
 
5:15 p.m.
Closing Comments
 
6:00 p.m.
Getting to Know Your Peers 
Shuttle bus transfer to Networking Cocktail Hour followed by Dinner 
 
 

Wednesday, November 20
 

7:45 a.m.  

Registration and Breakfast 
 
8:30 a.m.
Welcome
 
8:45 a.m.
Taking the Long-Term View of the Family Enterprise
Mariann Mihailidis, Managing Director, Councils
This session steps back from the details around the responsibilities of family trustees and foundation board members to examine what it takes to sustain a family’s wealth and cohesion over the generations.  It  will help family leaders understand the advantages of taking a long term view and define the building blocks necessary to put it in place.  Having this long term view provides the launching pad to discharging the duties of a family trustee.
 
9:30 a.m.
Peer discussion
Attendees have the opportunity to get to know one another, share experiences and needs, and discuss how the learning of the workshop is affecting them.  Sections will be based on roles:
 
• Personal trustees
• Beneficiaries
 
10:45 a.m.
Break
 
11:00 a.m.
Five Things I Wish I Had Known in my Role as Trustee, Beneficiary, and Corporate Trustee
Christopher M. White, CFA, Partner and Investment Counselor, Marble Harbor Investment Counsel
For the concluding session, Chris White reflects on his personal experiences as a trustee and beneficiary of his family trusts and as an investment fiduciary at several leading institutions. He will offer his list of five indispensible insights for serving in a fiduciary role for a family trust. 
 
11:45 a.m.
Closing remarks
 
12:00 p.m.
Lunch
Conclusion of the Trustee Workshop
 

Heather George, Director of Knowledge Center

As the Director of the Knowledge Center for Family Office Exchange, Heather George partners with senior management to support and execute the firm’s strategic vision to be the global leader in private wealth industry knowledge and family office best practices. As a key member of the Knowledge Center team, Heather works with members, internal teams, and external constituents to gather, analyze, communicate, and distribute knowledge in support of this vision.
 

Lee Hausner, First Foundation Advisors

Dr. Hausner, an internationally recognized clinical psychologist and business consultant, provides family consulting services. These services include assisting families in learning effective communication and conflict resolution skills, facilitating family retreats, resolving generational issues and increasing each family member's one to one personal effectiveness. Her facilitation skills and tools provide families the opportunity to support and successfully create long term financial and personal goals.
 

Wally Head, Gresham Partners

Wally leads Gresham’s strategic initiatives to grow the business and raise the firm’s national visibility, and he serves as a senior advisor to families and their related entities. Wally draws on over 30 years of experience serving as a senior executive in trust, investment, wealth management and family office advisory firms, and as a personal fiduciary advisor to wealthy individuals and families. As the founder of Personal Fiduciary Advisors, LLC (“PFA”), now a subsidiary of Gresham, Wally provided unconflicted consulting services to banks, family offices, RIAs and wealthy families.
 
 

Kim Kamin, Schiff Hardin, LLP

Kim Kamin's practice involves virtually all aspects of trust and estate planning, trust and estate administration, related dispute resolution, and not-for-profits. Ms. Kamin has extensive experience in:

  • Advising individuals, families and closely held businesses in wealth preservation, asset protection and succession planning issues
  • Representing fiduciaries, beneficiaries and custodians in estate administration and contested trust and estate matters
  • Providing counsel for the formation and operation of nonprofit entities, both private foundations and public charities

 

James Kane, HUB International Personal Insurance

With more than two decades of personal insurance experience, Jim Kane joined HUB International in October 2005 following the acquisition of Personal Lines Insurance Brokerage, Inc. (PLI).  He was named President of HUB International Personal Insurance, Ltd., the personal insurance division of HUB International that has over 500 employees dedicated to personal insurance and more than 125 offices throughout North America.  HUB International Personal accounts for more than 20 percent of total revenue and is among one of the largest providers of personal insurance in the United States and Canada.

 

Paul S. Lee, Bernstein Global Wealth Management

Paul S. Lee is a National Managing Director of Bernstein Global Wealth Management, a position he assumed in 2006; he is also a member of the firm’s Wealth Management Group, which he rejoined in 2008. Previously, he had been a managing director in the London and New York offices. Prior to joining the firm in 2000 as a Wealth Management Group director, he was a partner in the Atlanta-based law firm of Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP. Lee received a BA, cum laude, in English and a BA in chemistry from Cornell University, and a JD, with honors, from Emory University School of Law, where he was notes and comments editor of the Emory Law Journal; he also received an LLM in taxation from Emory University.

 

John McCall, AIG US Financial Lines

John McCall is a Regional Underwriting Manager within the Financial Institutions Division of AIG US Financial Lines.  He oversees the underwriting of management, professional, employment practices, fiduciary, cyber, and fidelity products in the US for all asset managers, including Family Offices.  

 

Mariann Mihailidis, Managing Director, Councils

Mariann oversees the FOX member councils, which are private networks of close peers working together to advance their professional development and to solve the unique challenges they face in their management of private wealth. She has extensive experience in the accounting and legal fields. As a practicing tax and estate planning attorney, she develops strategies in wealth transfer issues, taxes, and corporate structures.

 

William I. Sanderson, McGuireWoods LLP

Mr. Sanderson is part of McGuireWoods LLP’s Fiduciary Advisory Services and Private Wealth Services groups. He represents both high-net worth individuals and families on a variety of sensitive and complex estate and business planning matters. His practice focuses on the areas of estate planning and estate and trust administration. 

 

Rachel Simon, AIG Financial Lines

Rachel has over 20 years experience in insurance and insurance operations at AIG and has managed the Professional Liability division in Houston, TX since 2005.  She and her staff are responsible for underwriting and marketing D&O, E&O and EPLI for public entities, schools and associations; miscellaneous and technology E&O; and Cyber and Privacy Liability in Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas and Oklahoma.  Rachel holds a Green Belt in Six Sigma as well as Property and Casualty General Lines Agent and Surplus Lines Agent licenses.  Rachel earned her Bachelor of Arts Degree in English Literature from Cornell University.

 

Maria Treglia, Program Brokerage Corporation

Maria Treglia, Senior Vice President, Program Brokerage Corporation (PBC), a wholesale unit of Hub International Limited, has been working in the insurance industry for over 20 years, holding various positions as both an underwriter and on the brokerage side. An employee of PBC since 2003, Maria was hired to create and lead a newly created division through PBC that has grown into one of the firm’s most successful practices under her leadership.  

 

 Christopher M. White, CFA

For the better part of 20 years, Chris has invested for individuals, families and institutions. Most recently he was Chief Investment Officer at Fiduciary Trust Company in Boston, where he also served on the Management Committee and on the Board. Chris started his investment career working as an equity analyst at CIGNA Investments in Bloomfield, Connecticut. Following his work as an analyst, he worked as a portfolio manager at Shawmut Bank in Hartford and Boston Private Bank, heading up Boston Private’s equity effort until he joined Fiduciary in 2000. 

Hotel Accommodations

Following is a list of hotels where FOX has secured some rooms for your convenience.  If you are interested in utilizing one of these rooms, please note your interest during your reservation process or contact events@familyoffice.com for assistance.
 
Please note: Rooms are available on a first come, first served basis and not all hotels have ample rooms.  Attendees are responsible for arranging for their reservations either through FOX or directly with the hotel of their choice as well as paying for their own accommodation.
 
The Melrose Hotel (Warwick) 
Oak Lawn & Cedar Springs
(1.5 mi from workshop venue)
$285/nt+ 15.26% tax 
 
Hotel Palomar (Kimpton Hotel) 
75 North & Mockingbird 
(4.5 mi from workshop venue, near DART rail- Mockingbird Station)
$270/nt+ 15.26% tax includes cont breakfast
 
 
TRANSPORTATION SERVICES:
 
Wynne Transportation 214-361-6125
Park Cities Limousine 214-824-0011

Thank you to our gracious sponsors:

 

Interested in sponsoring?  Contact Sandra Ditore at 312.327.1233 or by email at sditore@familyoffice.com