SBT Trust Services

At State Bank & Trust Company we enjoy having an opportunity to visit with you about your questions and personal situations. We do not charge a fee to visit with you about your financial and estate planning questions, and offer the following services: trusts, estates, retirement accounts, investment agencies, specialized asset management, and custody services.

Trust Q & A

Q: What is a trust?

A: Any trust has three basic components. The first is an asset or collection of assets (of almost any kind). The second is a trustee (either an individual or an organization) responsible for managing those assets and distributing income and principal to the beneficiaries according to the provisions of a written trust agreement. The third is the beneficiary or beneficiaries named in the trust agreement to receive income and principal. The same beneficiary can receive both income and principal but in many cases income and principal are distributed to different beneficiaries (for example, a trust might be set up to distribute income to a surviving spouse during his or her lifetime and the principal to the children after the surviving spouse's death). Each trust agreement is individually designed to meet the needs of the specific beneficiary or beneficiaries and the management requirements of the trust assets, so no two trusts are exactly alike.

Q: Why do people choose State Bank & Trust Company as a trustee, conservator, or executor?

A: We have actually heard a lot of different reasons over the years. The experience of our trust staff in managing a variety of assets from stocks and bonds to real estate in a wide range of different personal or family situations is generally important. Often there is not a family member in the area who is able to take the responsibility. And, sometimes when there is a family member capable of assuming responsibility our customer chooses not to burden them with it (we often hear this from people who have served as trustees or executors for other family members and know how much work it can be). Continuity is important; the illness or death of an individual trust staff member would not stop the bank from carrying out its responsibilities. There are times the bank is selected to serve as a trustee or executor specifically because our customer knows there will be or may be disagreement and a neutral, unbiased third party will be the key to carrying out his or her intentions as stated. Ultimately, however, people choose a trustee they can trust.

For further questions please contact either Alan Charlson or Madeleine Ambrose at (319)352-6000.