Articles

Trusts Gone Right

Mon, 09 May 2016 15:39:00 +0000

Positive stories deepen our understanding of flourishing beneficiary-trustee relationships.

My goal, carried out with various colleagues, is to collect stories that illuminate the beneficiary-trustee relationship at its best.

The Case for Institutional Trustees

Thu, 07 Jan 2016 20:10:00 +0000

By tarring all institutional trustees with such a broad brush, trust creators—along with their advisors—are being unfair to those in the industry that do a good job.

A New Approach to Family Trusts

Thu, 19 Nov 2015 17:45:00 +0000

Improving the human consequences

Hartley Goldstone, James E. Hughes, Jr. and Keith Whitaker consider the emotional and relational aspects of trustees and beneficiaries

Where Trusts Succeed or Fail

Tue, 20 Oct 2015 18:30:00 +0000

While saving taxes may be the driving force behind many of the trusts that I administer, relationships with beneficiaries are where the action is.

A Very Different Way of Thinking

Tue, 02 Jun 2015 19:16:00 +0000

Tailoring the document to the client

What’s the most common complaint among estate-planning attorneys? “I wrote these great docs, and my clients won’t sign.”

Between the Lawyer’s Office and the Trustee

Thu, 15 Jan 2015 16:31:00 +0000

“You Don’t Get a Second Chance to Make a First Impression...”

Suppose that we shift our focus and begin to see a trust, first and foremost, as a relationship among flesh-and-blood human beings, rather than chiefly as a legalistic relationship.

Speaking of ... Family Blessings

Tue, 09 Dec 2014 18:36:00 +0000

A lasting tradition

A tale involving inheritances—of the emotional as well as the financial variety.

A Different Kind of “Immigration”

Mon, 17 Nov 2014 15:16:00 +0000

Flourishing in the land of wealth

As trusted advisors, we can help our clients become “bicultural” in their values and adjustment.

A Prairie Wealth Companion

Mon, 20 Oct 2014 17:46:00 +0000

The rising generation finds its voice

Rising generations have challenges that are common to the offspring of “larger-than-life” parents.

With a High Level of Certainty

Tue, 16 Sep 2014 17:29:00 +0000

How to avoid “go fever”

Some decisions are influenced by “go fever,” an overall attitude of rushing to get a task done while overlooking potential problems or mistakes.

From Seurat to Starbucks

Mon, 28 Apr 2014 18:42:00 +0000

A meditation on connection, communication and trusts…

A beneficiary must understand how to navigate his own unique trustscape. Doing so will raise that beneficiary’s confidence and put them in a better position to form a productive partnership with the trustee.

A Hard Day’s Knight

Fri, 21 Mar 2014 08:24:00 +0000

The origin of trusts: A tall tale

A tongue-in-cheek imagining of how the first trust was created.

What's in Your Wallet?

Tue, 11 Feb 2014 16:04:00 +0000

Parents of children with special needs take note

Hartley Goldstone shares some important advice for parents of children with special needs

Where There’s a Will, There’s an Executor

Wed, 08 Jan 2014 14:58:00 +0000

Ask if you can see a job description

A proposed fiduciary should be given adequate knowledge—whether at a meeting or in writing—to make an informed decision.

Tales From The Far Side

Tue, 03 Dec 2013 14:57:00 +0000

Wading through complexity to find simplicity

It’s easy for a trustee to get caught up in complexities. And the enticing solution—the way to avoid that swamp—is often a simple one.

VIDEO: Industry Insights with Hartley Goldstone

Mon, 18 Nov 2013 19:22:00 +0000

Hartley Goldstone discusses positive stories from beneficiaries and trustees.

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If You Tilt Your Head and Look Higher...

Mon, 28 Oct 2013 19:14:00 +0000

Positive stories challenge us to go beyond the same old trajectory

What if we want more than some sort of status quo? What if we want to take flight? That is, to gain altitude, not just resume traveling on a level path. Then we would seek out positive stories—because they'll challenge us to go beyond the same old trajectory.

It’s a Mad Mad World

Tue, 24 Sep 2013 14:20:00 +0000

The right way to welcome beneficiaries

Growing up, I was a big fan of Mad magazine, which the Internet indicates is still around: Assorted satires aimed at teens, along with those adults not wanting to become overly serious.

A Summons to Rethink Cynicism

Tue, 20 Aug 2013 13:30:00 +0000

Transforming legal and financial services sectors

On Aug. 1, the founder of the Purposeful Planning Institute , John A. Warnick, proclaimed a movement.

Family Recordings

Wed, 24 Jul 2013 18:46:00 +0000

Advise clients to collect their oral histories

I can buy the logic of those chroniclers who contend that documenting all a family’s stories is vital to good family governance: The good, the bad, the scarcely plausible, the ones that never got a happy ending—anything that the successor generations might benefit from hearing, despite some discomfort.

The Case of the Stressed Out Beneficiary

Fri, 28 Jun 2013 17:28:00 +0000

What Sherlock Holmes can teach us about making distributions

The time is July 2013. Sherlock Holmes is, of course, the renowned master detective, lately doing a gig in the United States. Now for the real surprise: He is carrying out that assignment as a trustee!

Spellbound

Mon, 20 May 2013 15:56:00 +0000

Weaving a family tapestry

Since ancient times, storytellers have passed along wisdom, engaged the imagination and fostered community. And Spellbinders, a non-profit network of volunteer storytellers, has brought back this age-old tradition in classrooms around Colorado and a handful of other states.

The Moral Core of Trusteeship

Tue, 14 May 2013 13:16:00 +0000

How to develop fiduciary character

Hartley Goldstone, Rev. Scotty McLennan & Keith Whitaker discuss the origin, nature and power of trusteeship

Canisters, Casseroles and Context

Wed, 10 Apr 2013 13:19:00 +0000

What beneficiaries and their advisors can learn from Julia Child

Hartley Goldstone discusses the proper ingredients to cook up a healthy relationship between trustees and beneficiaries.

Heroic Journeys and the Trustee’s Path

Fri, 01 Mar 2013 15:48:00 +0000

Don’t automatically refuse a beneficiary’s call to adventure

Hartley Goldstone encourages trustees to heed "the call of adventure"

The Trustee Who Mistook His Checklist for Wisdom

Tue, 12 Feb 2013 15:22:00 +0000

Don’t lose sight of the profession’s essential purpose

Some lament that the trustee profession has drifted away from emphasizing practical wisdom.

A Tale of Two Trustees

Wed, 09 Jan 2013 16:00:00 +0000

Getting in the right state of mind

Hartley Goldstone discusses the two mindsets trust officers need to consider: “prevention-focused” and “promotion-focused.”

The Positive Story Project

Tue, 18 Dec 2012 15:13:00 +0000

What we can learn by talking to beneficiaries, trustees and their advisors

Hartley Goldstone, in the first installment of his new column, discusses the value of harnessing the power of positivity in advising clients.

VIDEO: Interview with Hartley Goldstone

Wed, 14 Nov 2012 20:53:00 +0000

Real-life stories show when the trustee/beneficiary relationship works well

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