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Trusts

From revocable living trusts and irrevocable trusts to charitable remainder trusts and retirement trusts for special needs beneficiaries, the right trust structure can be one of the most powerful tools in your estate plan. At Mercer Advisors, our trustee services team coordinates alongside your estate planning strategy to help protect assets, manage distributions, and transfer wealth to future generations more efficiently. Browse the articles below to understand which type of trust could be right for your situation.

Women & Wealth Article

How Women Can Design a Legacy That Reflects Their Values

A legacy plan goes beyond transferring assets — it helps transfer your values. Learn how women can design financial legacies that reflect what matters most to them.

Estate Planning Article

How To Keep Your Family Vacation Home in the Family

Passing down a family vacation home takes more than a will. Learn how trusts, LLCs, and honest conversations can keep your legacy property in the family.

Financial Planning Guide

The Inheritance and Sudden Wealth Playbook: First 90 Days + 12 Months

When you inherit a significant amount of wealth, the decisions you make in the first year can define outcomes for decades. Here’s your step-by-step playbook.

Estate Planning Article

Illinois Estate Tax: What High-Net-Worth Families Need To Know

Illinois’ $4 million estate tax exemption, far below the $15 million federal threshold, can expose high-net-worth families to unexpected state tax bills without proactive planning.

Estate Planning Guide

The Family Guide to Estate Planning: Helping To Protect What You’ve Built Across Generations

Explore wills, trusts, beneficiary traps, POAs, estate tax changes, inherited IRAs, gifting, and family conversations in one comprehensive planning guide.

Estate Planning Article

Maryland Estate and Inheritance Tax

Maryland is the only state levying both an estate tax and inheritance tax. Understand thresholds, exemptions, and strategies to protect your estate.

Estate Planning Article

Estate Planning for Blended Families: Key Considerations

From qualified terminable interest property (QTIP) trusts to beneficiary designations, discover how a comprehensive estate plan can honor every relationship in your blended family.

Estate Planning Article

Estate Planning Strategies for Your Financial Future 

Learn how estate planning integrates with tax, investment management, and financial planning to help protect your wealth, minimize taxes, and transfer assets efficiently. 

Estate Planning Guide

Estate Planning Resource Center

This resource will answer questions about the process, estate planning terms, and what we do at each stage.

Estate Planning Article

Minnesota Estate Planning: Strategies for Your Legacy

Minnesota residents face a $3 million estate tax with no spousal portability. Discover trust strategies, lifetime gifting, and tools designed to preserve your legacy.

Estate Planning Article

Building a Lasting Legacy in the Era of the Great Wealth Transfer

Learn effective inheritance planning strategies from specialists. Get guidance on tax-efficient wealth transfer, trusts, and preserving your family legacy.

Estate Planning Article

How Upstream Planning Can Help Preserve Generational Wealth

Estate plans often focus on downstream wealth transfer from older to younger generations. Upstream planning challenges that convention and may offer meaningful tax advantages.

Estate Planning Article

Basis Step-Up Strategies for Estate Planning

The basis step up rule is a powerful estate planning tool that can wipe out capital gains tax on inherited assets. Learn how it works and when it applies.

FAQs
Estate Planning FAQ

What is a CRT (charitable remainder trust) for concentrated stock?

See the answer
Women & Wealth FAQ

What is a charitable remainder trust, and how does it benefit my estate?

See the answer
Women & Wealth FAQ

What is the difference between a donor-advised fund and a family foundation?

See the answer
Women & Wealth FAQ

Can I align my investment portfolio with my charitable values?

See the answer
Women & Wealth FAQ

Should I involve my family in charitable giving and legacy decisions?

See the answer
Women & Wealth FAQ

How do donor-advised funds operate, and are they right for me?

See the answer
Women & Wealth FAQ

What is a values-based legacy plan, and how is it different from an estate plan?

See the answer
Estate Planning FAQ

What is a family constitution?

See the answer

Further Learning

Trustee Services On-Demand Webinar

Estate Planning: The Decisions Behind the Documents

We break down the key roles in estate planning — trustees, executors, and agents — and how to choose the right people, communicate with family, and keep your plan up to date.

Retirement Guide

Retirement Tax Planning: A Year-Round Guide to Help Keep More of What You’ve Built

A comprehensive retirement tax planning guide covering Roth conversions, RMDs, IRMAA, Social Security taxation, QCDs, and tax-loss harvesting strategies for retirees.

Listen
Market Commentary Podcast

Episode 41: Making Sense of Rising Treasury Yields

David Krakauer, Vice President of Portfolio Management, examines the economic forces that have pushed long-term Treasury yields to the highest level in nearly two decades — and why investors shouldn’t be alarmed.

Tax Planning Article

How Much Money Do You Need To Work With a Wealth Manager?

Firm minimums vary widely, but a better question may be whether your financial complexity warrants professional coordination.

About Mercer Advisors

We exist so you don’t have to worry about money. For more than 40 years, we’ve taken the sophisticated, time-tested approach that many ultra-high net worth individuals use to help manage their financial lives and made it accessible to more families.

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