The Financial Skills Trust

(opens in new tab)In this two-part series from the Journal of Financial Planning, two wealth consultants (Jim Grubman and Eileen Gallo) and a prominent attorney (Jon Gallo) propose a fresh way to look at incorporating modern principles of financial education with careful trust design.

Part I(opens in new tab) outlines the many problems inherent in incentive trusts and offers a much more helpful alternative: the Financial Skills Trust (FST). This approach to trust design integrates estate planning with what experts have learned over the past thirty years about the most important financial skills needed in adult life.

(opens in new tab) Part II(opens in new tab) further delineates the principles and procedures behind the Financial Skills Trust and the Results-Oriented Trust Environment™ (ROTE™).  The FST helps provide a thoughtful solution to the dilemmas of “fair versus equal” in estate planning for parents when most heirs show responsible financial behavior but at least one does not. The FST has been implemented in many estate plans since its first description back in 2010.