When it comes to navigating the complexities of trust administration, having the right team in place is essential. On this episode of Metcalf Money Moment, hosts Jeb, Ethan, and Eric welcome Randy Kimmel from BOK Financial Advisor Trust Services for an in-depth discussion about corporate trustees. Together, they cover everything from handling special assets and dynasty trusts to maintaining family harmony and managing trustee duties with clarity and confidence. If you’re looking for practical insights on wealth management and securing your family’s financial future, this episode offers valuable guidance.

IN THIS EPISODE: 

• (00:00) Trust documents and estate documents, highlighting impartial trust administration decisions
• (01:22) Role of a corporate trustee as executor to prevent conflict during estate settlement
• (02:35) BOK Financial specializes in working with financial advisors in estate settlements
• (06:08) How a corporate trustee preserves family harmony in beneficiary guidance and distributions
• (10:21) Risks of serving as an individual trustee: their personal wealth is exposed 
• (11:37) Process of when the Corporate trustee should become involved 
• (16:28) Dedicated teams simplify oversight of complex assets, ensuring asset management 
• (18:36) Randy offers advice on choosing between family members or a corporate trustee 

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

• A corporate trustee helps ensure smooth trust administration and estate settlement, removing emotional decision-making and protecting family harmony. By acting as a neutral third party, they reduce conflict and keep the process focused on honoring your wishes.
• Effective estate planning, including clear estate documents and professional oversight, safeguards legacy protection and ensures proper management of assets. This proactive approach ensures that wealth transitions seamlessly to future generations.
• Understanding fiduciary responsibilities and the complexities of trustee duties is crucial​​ for maintaining fairness and providing lasting beneficiary guidance to beneficiaries. With expert support, families can feel confident that decisions are being made with both integrity and compliance in mind.

RESOURCES:

Metcalf Partners - Website

Jeb Graham - LinkedIn

Ethan Hutchison - LinkedIn

Eric Wymore - LinkedIn

Randy Kimmel - LinkedIn

BOK Financial - Website

DISCLAIMER:

This information is not intended to be a substitute for specific individualized tax or legal advice. We suggest that you discuss your specific situation with a qualified tax or legal advisor.

GUEST BIOGRAPHY: 

Randy Kimmel brings 29 years of experience in banking and finance, having joined BOK Financial in 2000 and spent over 20 years with the company. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Management from Baker University in Baldwin, Kansas. He has expertise in executive banking leadership, trust administration, family office services, and providing trust solutions for financial advisors and their clients. Randy supports client acquisition and retention through strategic use of trust services while building and maintaining strong relationships with advisors, broker-dealers, and RIAs. An active community supporter, he is involved with the American Heart Association, United Way, and other local non-profits, and he is also a certified Bourbon Steward.

Voiceover: Welcome to Metcalf Money Moment. The podcast unlock financial clarity and confidence with expert insights to achieve [00:00:30] your goals. Hosted by Jeb Graham, Ethan Hutchinson and Eric Wymore. Each episode offers decades of combined expertise in wealth management, retirement planning, and more. Join us for practical strategies to inspire your financial journey.[00:00:45]

Now, your host.

Uh, welcome Randy. And [00:01:15] how's everybody doing? Thanks for having me. Thanks for joining Randy. Yeah, we're glad you're here. Um, and you know, we thought it would be really beneficial to have you on, uh, maybe to talk to some of our clients about what a corporate trustee is. Uh, I know we have [00:01:30] used, and I know there's a couple around town.

And I think, uh, I know you guys are really big in that space. I wanna talk a little bit [00:02:00] about that today. And I think what we also wanna talk about just in general, is. Is, why would somebody name a corporate trustee, right? Because, uh, if you think about it, what, what a corporate trustee can do is act as an executor on an estate.

Uh, [00:02:30] B. Okay. Financial Advisor Trust Services, what you guys do and kind of what that corporate trustee role is.

Organization, 1910, and we opened our trust administration offices in 1918. In fact, we're still administering some of those [00:03:00] trusts from 1918, still to this day, so well over 100 years. So when you're looking at those high net worth clients, uh, complexity dynasty situations, uh, we're no stranger to that. So, uh, that's something that's a space that we work very well in.

And many times if the. Individuals creating a trust, don't realize that they're naming a trustee [00:03:45] that is not what we call advisor friendly. That all of that work that, that you all spent in building their plan, uh, all the time that the family spent in creating the, working with you to, to find the answers, to find documents and put things together, [00:04:00] work through scenarios.

Um. That, that corporate trustee will come in [00:04:30] and pull the assets from the advisor, uh, leaving the family to not only mourn the loss of a loved one, but now they have to recreate relationships with a whole new team of people at a completely different organization that doesn't understand the family dynamics.

Uh, but then. The families need someone to, to turn to, to be able to, to say, what do we do next? And they needed that rock to [00:05:15] lean on. And many times, as you know it, it's in the role of the financial advisor and investment managers. You're not just dealing with money, you're dealing with lots of emotion as well.

Emotions stay in check, uh, for the most part. Um, mm-hmm. [00:05:45] But at least there's, there's, there's a, there's clarity and a path forward.

Or, or, or mitigate, I guess those complexities, uh, when you're dealing with, as an executor, as a corporate trustee?

And so when you throw money in the mix, um, it can get even more challenging. And then you throw someone that is, um, [00:06:30] you know, that has been declined, a distribution from, from Uncle Uncle Sam down at the end of the table while, uh. While, uh, nephew Johnny is, you know, carving the Turkey, it can and, and if Sam denied Johnny, that [00:06:45] distribution, there could be some resentment there.

[00:07:15] So having a a, a group like us to come in and to be able to serve. It removes the emotion. We're looking at the trust document. We're looking at the, uh, the estate documents and really helping to fulfill the wishes of the grantors, um, based on how the, how [00:07:30] the document was drafted. And it, we do have heart.

Mm-hmm. Through the, through that individual that really has the, the inner knowings and inner workings of the family. And the great [00:08:00] thing is, is a Thanksgiving table, you can say, Hey, those. That trustee can say those, those co-trustees over there, the big bad guys, they're the ones that said no, they're the ones that are taking the responsibility for interpreting the document.

Jeb Graham: Well, I, I tell you, I, I would, I would tell you from perspective, so I think Eric, Ethan, myself, we would all agree that we've, we've all been through this. Dynamic where we have a client who, one of the siblings is the trustee, right?

And I think another flip side of that, and this is, um. A deal where, where my family, this would be my parents and I have two brothers, and, and, and we've all decided collectively that [00:09:00] we want a third party trustee, right? And or a third or, and a corporate trustee. And the reason is 'cause nobody really wants to take it on.

Randy Kimmel: the job.

I don't want this off. I don't want, I do not want to take the time to do [00:09:45] this, but, um, another situation that I came across recently, um, was we had the son-in-law, uh, of a grant tour, um, that, uh, and the grant tour was quite wealthy. Um, they had a, a nice cattle operation out, I think [00:10:00] in West Texas. Um, and so.

Um, and, and when you serve. And so if there's a misstep and it is. Significantly misguided, um, then that could potentially expose that personal wealth. And so the [00:10:45] question came up with us as well, that, that that's a challenge because we know that our daughter is married to this person that has. Created great wealth and, and great businesses, and we don't wanna take a chance on that, on that getting, um, exposed, so, [00:11:00] uh, exposed to litigation.

And so that's where a a, a corporate trustee would also be able to come in and, and help serve, uh, as another added layer of protection.

Uh, B. Okay. Financial. As the corporate trustee, what sort of involvement do you have? During that process. And then when do you come in? Is that [00:11:30] upon in incapacitation of life of the grantor?

Um, and so we've done it both ways. Sometimes, uh, grantors will just say, yep, just go ahead and name them. We trust you and your decision and, and working with them, let's move forward. Um, many times they want to actually have a conversation, [00:12:00] um, because they just wanna know who we are, what we stand for, uh, what we do, and how we work with you.

I, I do a lot of consulting with, with clients. It's okay, what happens [00:12:30] if this happens? Or, or how do you handle this situation? Uh, what about this asset? What, what? What do we do with this? Um, and so then I can provide them some, uh, direction and some advice from when we administer the document. That [00:12:45] asset, what that's gonna look like.

Real estate, closely held, uh, [00:13:15] oil and gas rights, even art. Um, those are things that a corporate trustee might be able to, um, uh, administer, uh, under the umbrella of the trust also. So from the beginning, we want to have the conversation. If the client wants [00:13:30] to, no problem. What I'll do is we have sample language that we provide, uh, to you, uh, to either give to the attorney or the client.

Um. Then what we want to do is at least be able to keep a copy of, of, of that document on file just so we have it for quick reference. 'cause sometimes more than likely you'll be the first call family will, will, will, the first people [00:14:15] family will reach out to, uh, will be you in the firm. Um, but there are times where they come across our name, they look us up, and they reach out to us as well.

Been fighting terminal cancer, uh, for about 18 months. Uh, their financial advisor knew it. The accountant knew it. The attorney knew it. The executor knew it. We did not find out about this until after she [00:15:00] passed, and so they're ready to move forward. But we still have a lot of due diligence we have to do.

Uh, and then of course, at, at upon death, we can, [00:15:30] we definitely come in and, and, uh, start serving based on how the document, um. Wants us to serve, so, or we can execute the document as it's written. So it's, it's, I know it's a long-winded answer, but, you know, we, we, we can have a [00:15:45] hand in helping to kind of craft the document at the beginning, but then at the early onset of a situation that could be deemed incapacitation or, uh, terminal diagnosis of death.

Eric Wymore: You mentioned marketable securities is, uh, you know, one area that you guys serve as corporate trustee, but what are some of the other types of, uh, uh, of investments that, that you see on a, on a regular basis Yeah. That you become corporate trustees for?

Uh, a lot of times we're seeing, uh, what I see a lot of are of course, primary residences, uh, real estate. Maybe it's the house where the kids grew up. Um, you've got the family vacation home, uh, or, or cabin someplace. [00:16:45] Um, in, in those. We can handle those, but they also have their own complexities. Um, then you've gotta work with the tangible personal property that's inside each of those, those homes.

[00:17:15] Uh, and so how do you work with. That into a, into an estate plan. And how's a corporate trustee come into, come into, um, uh, facilitate some of those over some of the oversight. Uh, when it comes to those, that particular type of asset, uh, we can walk through that with [00:17:30] the family as well. So, um, it's, it basically anything that is, uh, not publicly traded, um, we would be able to manage, uh, and administer under the umbrella of the trust.

Uh, but either way, it's a partnership. And so, um, regardless of what happens, you know, that, that. If you reach out to the advisor, they're gonna let the trust officer know what's going [00:18:15] on. If the, if the beneficiary reached out to the, uh, trust officer, then they're gonna communicate back with the advisor.

And so it really is a, a team effort when managing those unique and specialty assets.

Randy Kimmel: Yeah, I think we've, we've touched base on that a little bit early on in the, in the, in the podcast. And so, um, it's. Number one, it's the time. Do does the individual have the ability and the time to, [00:19:00] um, to, to handle the workload that comes with this? Uh, it's also do they understand the fiduciary responsibilities?

They need to understand the trust document and, and how to make distributions and make sure they're not favoring, you know, [00:19:30] one beneficiary over the other, that that becomes a challenge. Um, you know, corporate trustees we're. We are around. Um, so if, if something were to happen to, to me or someone on my team, someone else would be able to step up and take over and, and, and carry on [00:19:45] with an individual.

It's, it's interviewing those third party corporate trustees, you know, what can you do? What are some [00:20:15] solutions, you know, how can we still keep the family involved? Um, and, and we're more than happy to, to sit down with families and, and kinda work through all of that.

Jeb Graham: Well, very good. Well, I know us as financial advisors really appreciate.

Uh, you know, to talk about this 'cause I think it's super, super important information to relate. And relay to our clients because, you know, it's like, well, when, when we meet with a client, we go through their financial plan, we go through [00:21:00] all this stuff, and a lot of times, you know, getting to end stages and death and all, and you know, who's going to run the estate, that a lot of times that's the kind of the secondhand conversation that a lot of times we might get in a minute or two at the, at the very end of the conversation.

Voiceover: Thanks for tuning in to Metcalf Money Moment, the podcast. We hope today's episode provided valuable insights to help you unlock financial clarity, confidence, and peace of mind. For [00:21:45] more expert advice and resources, visit medcalf partners.com. Until next time, make every money moment count.

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