Estate Planning

The goal of Estate Planning is to create a roadmap and the necessary legal documents that ensure your wishes are followed should you pass away or become disabled. Many people find the process intimidating, but we have found that it makes a difference when you work with someone who listens carefully and brings the expertise needed to guide you through the process. Call us at 978-283-7079 to speak to one of our Trust professionals or email us to start a conversation about your Estate Planning.

You have questions, we have answers.

How We Can Help

Cape Ann Savings Trust & Financial Services has fiduciary powers, meaning we can serve as the trustee of a trust, or the personal representative of someone’s will, or even as an individual’s Power of Attorney. Over our 30-year history, the Bank (represented by Cape Ann Savings Trust & Financial Services) has proven itself an accomplished administrator of trusts and estates, making sure that the instructions placed in wills and trusts are followed, and that final wishes are adhered to.

Estate & Trust Administration

Our Trust & Financial Services department often serves as the personal representative of a will or trustee of a family’s trust. Why?

• Experience: Many individuals asked to serve as Personal Representative/Trustee have never served in this role before. Getting started requires research, and mistakes can incur legal liability. Being named in a fiduciary role is a serious responsibility.
• Neutrality: The Bank has a legal duty to treat all parties equally. Family dynamics are such that historical grudges and sibling rivalries can arise when a parent dies. Coupled with grief and shock, families may not be at their best. Cape Ann Savings Trust & Financial Services helps by serving as a neutral third party.
• Expertise: Cleaning out a house, preparing it for sale, filing an estate tax return, filing a final income tax return, and finding assets are all tasks the Bank has expertise in.
• Geography: Where does your potential trustee or personal representative live? Neither job can easily be done remotely. We have the expertise that stretches beyond Cape Ann to all of Essex County.
• Perpetual Life: Estates and Trusts can survive a decedent for years, and remain in place until the wishes of their donor are fulfilled, and we will be here to see them through.