Trust Counsel

Fiduciary Trust International is a premier investment and wealth management firm with a commitment to growing and protecting wealth across generations. We offer a dynamic and collaborative approach to managing wealth for high-net-worth and ultra high-net-worth individuals and families, family offices, endowments, foundations, and institutions. Our investment managers, tax and estate planning professionals work together to develop holistic strategies to optimize clients’ portfolios while mitigating the impact of taxes on their wealth. As a fiduciary, the guidance we provide is in the best interests of our clients, without conflict or competing benefits. We offer boutique customization and deep expertise in specialized investment, tax and planning strategies alongside sophisticated technology and custody platforms. Fiduciary Trust International is owned by Franklin Templeton, a global firm that spans asset management, wealth management, and fintech, giving us many ways to help investors make progress toward their goals.

About the role

We are hiring a Trust Counsel to join our NY market team in Midtown. The Trust Counsel serves as an expert, both internally and externally, on matters related to estate planning, advanced tax planning, and trust and estate administration.

Responsibilities

• Wealth Planning:
  • Provide clients with holistic review of estate and wealth transfer plans, including recommendations on options to best achieve wealth transfer goals, working in collaboration with relationship teams and outside professional advisors
  • Liaise with internal team members and outside professional advisors to gather all relevant information, then develop and implement any changes or additions to the client plans
  • Understand and update team and clients regarding changes to federal, state and local estate, gift and income tax laws and proactively identify impact to client plans
• Trust And Estate Community Involvement/Marketing And Sales:
  • Collaborate and coordinate with market teams and nationally in order to provide clients with breadth of firm’s offerings
  • Assist and participate in new business meetings in order to articulate value proposition of integrated wealth management offering
  • Actively represent the firm in the community through thought leadership and participation in industry groups such as bar associations, committees, networking groups and conferences
  • Act as a leader and SME for specific new projects and initiatives related to new business development and client retention
• Provide Trust Administration Guidance:
  • Provide guidance to trust team members on all aspects of estate and trust administration
  • Review intake of new trust business and related documents in accordance with trust acceptance procedures
  • Provide advice concerning trust terminations, accountings, decantings and use of nonjudicial settlement agreements
  • Engage and manage outside counsel
  • Review exercises of discretion, including distributions of principal and income

Requirements

• JD or LLM required
• Bar admission in relevant states required
• 10+ years of trust administration and wealth planning experience in a legal or professional environment. Law firm experience preferred
• Cross-border planning experience preferred
• Knowledge of state-specific Trust laws, including NY, New Jersey, and other jurisdictions, preferred
• Network of professional advisor relationships to leverage and collaborate with
• Fluency across financial planning disciplines, including cash-flow planning, insurance and risk management, income tax planning and investment planning, preferred
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Excellent organizational skills with strong attention to detail
• MS Office skills (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint)

Pay

We expect the base salary for this position to range between $250,000 - $275,000, depending on level of relevant experience, plus bonus.

Benefits

• Annual discretionary bonus
• 401(k) plan with a generous match
• Recognition rewards
• Comprehensive healthcare options, insurance, and disability benefits
• Employee stock investment program
• Learning resources and career development programs
• Reimbursement for certain education expenses
• Paid time off (vacation, holidays, sick leave, parental & caregiving leave, bereavement, volunteering, floating holidays)
• Motivational wellbeing program