David R. Hodgman
Partner
Chicago
312.258.5714
E-mail

Fiduciary Activities

In order to increase fee income, many financial institutions have expanded their trust department and fiduciary activities by acquiring corporate fiduciaries, trust departments, and money managers. Schiff Hardin attorneys have extensive experience with these acquisitions and have also assisted financial institutions in organizing new trust companies, often in other jurisdictions, as de novo businesses and in obtaining qualifications in other jurisdictions to act as a foreign corporate fiduciary.

We provide a distinctive service to many trust departments around the country as special trust counsel. In this capacity we prepare comprehensive manuals of will and trust forms, tailored in each case to local law and frequently updated. Over the last 20 years, we have prepared these documents for more than 30 financial institutions across the country. We conduct seminars for financial institution officers, attorneys and customers, and we advise financial institutions directly on sensitive administration issues, such as taxes, accounting, fiduciary duties and construction of will and trust documents.

Schiff Hardin also has a wide-ranging trust and estate litigation practice. We have particularly in-depth experience representing trustees, investment managers and other fiduciaries. We also have represented beneficiaries in a variety of disputes with trustees, executors, and other beneficiaries.