Understanding QPRTs
How Homeowners Can Transfer a Primary or Vacation Residence Out of Their Taxable Estate at a Reduced Gift Tax Cost...
When to Bring in a Corporate Trustee: Red Flags and Conversation Starters for Advisors
Most financial advisors...
From Here to There: A Practitioner’s Guide to Migrating an Existing Trust to South Dakota
A client’s trust was established twenty years...
Understanding GRATs: How Grantor-Retained Annuity Trusts Transfer Wealth Tax-Efficiently
How GRATs Allow Families...
Fixing What Looked Irrevocable: A Practitioner’s Guide to Trust Decanting in South Dakota
Irrevocable trusts were not always designed to...
Understanding Defective Grantor Trusts: Leveraging Tax Rules to Transfer Wealth Efficiently
When an irrevocable ...
Sterling Trustees Named #1 for Best Trust Technology in the 2026 Wealth Advisor Trust Survey
Sterling Trustees has...
Sterling Trustees Named #1 for Best Advisor Service in the 2026 Wealth Advisor Trust Survey
We are pleased to share ...
Why Most Advisors Lose 80% of Assets When a Client Dies — And How Trust Planning Prevents It
When a long-standing ...
Why Trust Accounts Produce Longer Advisor Relationships
One of the most important advantages of trust planning, yet one of the...
Understanding Asset Protection Trusts: Shielding Wealth While Preserving Access
How South Dakota Law Enhances Trust...
Directed vs. Discretionary Trusts: What’s the Difference and Why It Matters
How Modern Trust Structures Adapt...
Understanding SLATs: A Strategic Tool for Wealth Preservation
Why Spousal Lifetime Access Trusts Continue to Play a Critical Role in Modern...
Failing to Plan for the Loss of a Trustee: How Relying on Family Friends Can Put Your Trust at Risk
Many parents appoint a ...
Family Trust Mistakes: When Mismanagement of Trust Funds Lead to Financial and Legal Ramifications
Many individuals appoint...
Why You Need to Put Your Wealth in a Trust
The Greatest Wealth Transfer in History is underway. In the next 20 years, members of Generation X...
Family Trust Mistakes: How Relying on Relatives Devastates Your Fortune and Tears Your Family Apart
Is the trustee for your......
Navigating Trust Structures: Directed vs. Discretionary Trusts
Blended families, where one or both spouses bring children from previous marriages into a new family...
The Benefits of Trusts in Blended Families: South Dakota Situs
Blended families, where one or both spouses bring children from previous...
An alternative to the Massachusetts Millionaire Tax
On November 8, 2022, Massachusetts voters approved a ballot measure to amend the Massachusetts......
Reflections on the 57th Annual University of Miami Heckerling Institute on Estate Planning
I was thrilled to join our President/CEO......
Trusts 101: Perfect Storm – the Looming Threat to Your Investment Advisory Practice
In our view, there’s a perfect storm on the horizon...
Trusts 101: South Dakota puts the special in Special Purpose Entity
South Dakota is consistently regarded by high-net-worth individuals and their...
Trusts 101: Why Partner With An Independent Corporate Trustee
When setting up a trust, choosing the trustee is the most important decision...
Trusts 101 for Investment Advisors: Why South Dakota Is the Top Situs for Your Clients’ Trusts
When setting up a trust...
Trusts 101 for Investment Advisors: Types of Trusts Explained
Are you advising your clients on the transfer of wealth through generations via...
Trusts 101 For Investment Advisors: What Is a Trust and How Do Trusts Work?
As baby boomers have started reaching retirement...
Common Questions about Asset Protection Trusts
From time to time the news media covers various issues related to the popularity of South Dakota’s...
When selecting a trustee, does size really matter?
When we start working with a new client, it’s often at the end of an evaluation process that invol...
Real estate strategy affected by a slow corporate trustee?
Have you lost out on a home buying opportunity because you couldn’t get a distribution in time? He...
For attorneys, retiring can be trickier than you thought
Over the past few months, we have had several calls from attorneys who are...
3 Takeaways from the 53rd Annual Heckerling Conference
In January, I had the pleasure of attending the 53rd Annual Heckerling Conference...
Are you a creature of habit – at the expense of your clients?
In many situations, being a creature of habit is beneficial. It guides you through...
A tax time opportunity that you, as an attorney, must explore for your clients
“...It’s the most wonderful......
Are clients complaining about the slow response time from their corporate trustee?
Your client’s corporate trustee relationship is...
9 Questions Wealthy Families Should Be Asking in 2018
Here we are passing through February into March already and settling in to a new year. Often, the ne...
Sterling Trustees top-ranked in SD by Chambers and Partners
Sterling Trustees, LLC has been recognized by Chambers and Partners...
Trust business swells in SD with international changes
For decades, South Dakota has been among the most favorable places in the…...
Wealth Advisor: How South Dakota Became A Leader In National Trust
Last year Gov. Dennis Daugaard reconfigured South Dakota's trust task force…...
In recent years, trust activity getting large in South Dakota
Trust companies headquartered in South Dakota surpassed...
Private Wealth magazine: The South Dakota Story
The casual observer has probably encountered a South Dakota story without even knowing it. Such stor...