People Passing Down Wealth
GSS Trust works with individuals and families looking to transfer assets to the next generation. We work alongside your existing team, from estate planning attorneys, CPAs, investment advisors to make sure your wishes are carried out the way you intended.
For example, you’ve named GSS as successor trustee while your longtime investment advisor continues managing the portfolio. GSS steps in to administer the trust when designated, and works directly with your advisor. Your advisor remains responsible for custody of your investments and the trust portfolio strategy (subject to oversight and due diligence by GSS) and GSS handles all distributions to the beneficiaries according to the trust terms.
Aging Adults & Seniors
Some individuals do not have a family member who is able or willing to step in as they age. Some people never had children, while others outlived their spouse and family. GSS Trust serves as Agent, also known as Attorney-in-Fact, under Durable Powers of Attorney (DPOA) for both finances and healthcare.
We handle all financial matters, tax return preparation and filing, and healthcare decision-making if needed when a client can no longer manage those things independently. Our care management team coordinates directly with medical providers and care providers to make sure financial and healthcare decisions are made according to your wishes.
If named in your documents, GSS Trust can seamlessly step into a potential trustee or personal representative role and carry the estate through to completion.
Individuals with Special Needs
GSS Trust has spent decades managing Special Needs Trusts designed to supplement government benefits. Our staff has real-world experience navigating the benefit agencies, rules, and regulations to ensure funds are used in ways that protect eligibility for benefits and enhance quality of life.
Personal Injury & Settlement Recipients
Individuals who have been awarded settlements from legal action, oftentimes through a personal injury settlement or wrongful death action, can require a professional trustee to oversee and manage the settlement funds in a trust. This occurs most often when the recipient of the settlement is a minor child or an adult with a disability. Some of these trusts require court-monitoring while others do not; GSS is qualified to serve in either instance due to its status as a Washington-state chartered trust company.
GSS staff are experts in settlement trust administration, making sure the money is invested carefully and spent according to the terms of the trust document.
Individuals Without Family Support
For individuals that are aging without adult children, aging solo or otherwise without capable family members available to handle complex financial management and care management duties, GSS can serve in roles typically held by family members.
Perhaps you have very capable adult children, but they live out of state or are busy with their careers or raising their own children. GSS is a strong option to avoid burdening friends and family with the onerous task of settling an estate or stepping in as your Power of Attorney.
Family Not Getting Along
Maybe there is a person capable of serving as Personal Representative, Power of Attorney or Trustee but putting them in charge would create conflict in the family. Maybe you’re a parent that does not want to put one child in a position of power over the others and wishes to avoid the appearance of favoritism or otherwise avoid setting up your children for conflict. You may be the family member named in the legal document but unsure if you should serve, or a loved one looking for a fiduciary to step in and help someone in a difficult position. GSS serves as a neutral intermediary in cases where family dynamics are complicated.
Appointing GSS as an independent and professional trustee puts GSS in the hot seat for financial decisions and lets family be family. Rather than giving one sibling control of the purse strings for the other, put GSS in the position of trustee, and let siblings live harmoniously without money coming between them.
Estate Planning Attorneys & Other Professionals
GSS Trust works directly with estate planning attorneys, elder law attorneys, financial and wealth advisors, CPAs, and other professionals to recommend options for fiduciary services to their clients. We welcome co-trustee arrangements and other shared responsibilities.