Plan Ahead. Protect What Matters.

The future may hold many changes, but having a thoughtful estate plan can help you feel more prepared for what’s ahead. It can help protect the assets you’ve worked hard to build, provide for the people you love, and make your wishes clear.

A personal trust can be an important part of your plan. Since every family’s needs and financial goals are unique, Countybank’s trust professionals can help you explore your options and work with your legal and tax advisors to develop a strategy that fits your life.

Find the Trust That Fits Your Goals

Trusts can serve different purposes, from providing for loved ones to helping manage and distribute your assets. Understanding the options is a helpful first step toward making decisions that support your future.

Testamentary Trusts and Living Trusts: When Do They Begin?

The key difference between these two trusts is when they take effect.

• Testamentary Trust: Created through your will and established after your death. It can provide ongoing financial support for the beneficiaries you name.

• Living Trust: Established during your lifetime. You can transfer assets into the trust and set instructions for how they should be managed and distributed.

A living trust may be revocable or irrevocable, depending on whether you want the ability to change its terms.

Revocable or Irrevocable: How Much Flexibility Do You Need?

Revocable Living Trusts

A revocable living trust gives you flexibility while you’re living. You can generally make changes, add or remove assets, or cancel the trust, subject to its terms and applicable law.

This option may be worth exploring if you own property, have children or grandchildren, or want to establish clear instructions for managing and distributing your assets. While a revocable living trust does not automatically reduce estate taxes, it may be part of a broader estate plan designed to address your long-term goals.

Irrevocable Trusts

An irrevocable trust generally cannot be changed or canceled once it’s established, except in certain circumstances allowed by law. Depending on how it’s structured, it may support goals such as estate tax planning, asset protection, or long-term financial planning.

Because these trusts involve important legal and tax considerations, professional guidance is essential. Countybank’s trust professionals can work with your attorney and tax advisor to help you understand your options and develop a plan that aligns with your goals. Countybank may also serve as trustee when selected.

Living Trusts: Plan for the Life You’re Building

What Is a Living Trust?

A living trust allows you to place assets into a trust during your lifetime and establish instructions for how those assets should be managed. A revocable living trust can provide professional investment management, along with additional planning opportunities for your future and the people who matter most.

Investment Management Account or Living Trust?

Both options offer professional investment oversight and ongoing account management. The right fit depends on your needs: an Investment Management Account may be appropriate if you’re primarily looking for investment management, while a living trust may offer additional ways to plan for how your assets are managed and passed on.

Countybank’s trust professionals can help you understand the differences and explore which option may best support your financial goals.

A Trust That Reflects Your Wishes

A living trust can help you plan for the future while giving you flexibility over how your assets are managed today. When Countybank serves as your trustee, we can help handle the responsibilities outlined in your trust agreement. These may include managing investments, collecting income, paying bills, and overseeing other financial matters.

You can also choose how involved you want to be in managing your investments. You may prefer professional investment management from the start, or you may want to manage your investments yourself and have the option to delegate those responsibilities later.

As trustee, Countybank follows the instructions in your trust agreement and fulfills its legal and fiduciary responsibilities. With a plan in place, you can feel more confident that your financial affairs will be managed according to your wishes.

Prepare for the Unexpected

An illness or injury can make it difficult to manage your finances. A living trust can help you prepare by naming a trustee who can step in and manage trust assets according to your written instructions if you become incapacitated.

You can outline how you want your financial affairs handled, including investment management, bill payments, and other responsibilities. Without an appropriate plan in place, your loved ones may need to seek court involvement to gain authority over certain financial matters.

Planning ahead can help provide clearer direction and reduce uncertainty for your family when they need it most.

Keep Your Estate Matters Private

Privacy can be another benefit of a living trust. A will generally becomes part of the public probate record, while a living trust agreement typically remains private.

This can help keep details about your assets, beneficiaries, and distribution plans out of the public record, while still allowing the professionals responsible for administering your trust to access the information they need.

Help Protect a Loved One’s Future

Planning for a Family Member With Special Needs

When a loved one has a disability, planning for their financial future can bring unique challenges. You want to provide meaningful support while helping preserve their eligibility for important needs-based government benefits.

A direct inheritance or gift may affect eligibility for certain programs. Depending entirely on public assistance may also leave needs unmet, while placing assets in another family member’s name can expose those assets to that person’s financial or legal obligations.

A special needs trust may offer another way to provide for a loved one over time. When properly structured, it can help support their quality of life while preserving eligibility for certain public benefits.

What Is a Special Needs Trust?

A special needs trust holds and manages assets for the benefit of a person with a disability. Its terms can help provide supplemental support while accounting for the rules of applicable needs-based benefit programs.

Two common types include:

• First-Party Special Needs Trust: Funded with assets belonging to the person with a disability. These trusts generally include a Medicaid payback provision, which may require remaining assets to reimburse the state for certain Medicaid benefits provided.

• Third-Party Special Needs Trust: Funded with assets belonging to someone else, such as a parent or grandparent. These trusts generally do not have the same Medicaid payback requirement.

Special needs planning involves complex legal and benefit eligibility rules that can vary by state. It’s important to work with an attorney experienced in this area.

When Countybank is selected to serve as trustee, we can provide professional trust administration and investment management, helping manage assets according to the trust agreement and the beneficiary’s needs.

Give Your Retirement Savings Professional Attention

IRA Investment Management

Whether you’re changing careers, approaching retirement, or managing retirement savings you’ve already built, an Individual Retirement Account (IRA) can be an important part of your financial plan.

Countybank’s trust professionals can help you explore your options and determine whether professional investment management may be right for you. We offer managed investment accounts for IRAs with balances of $200,000 or more.

With a dedicated trust administrator, you’ll have a professional available to answer questions, oversee investments, and help develop a portfolio aligned with your goals and investment preferences.

Investment products are not FDIC-insured, are not deposits or other obligations of, or guaranteed by, the bank, and are subject to investment risks, including the possible loss of principal.

Make Your Wishes Easier to Carry Out

Estate Planning and Administration

Estate planning is about more than deciding who receives your assets. It’s about making your wishes known, providing for the people you care about, and creating a plan for how your financial affairs will be handled.

Countybank’s trust professionals can work alongside your attorney and tax advisor to help you explore options such as:

• Creating a will or trust to provide for your loved ones.

• Organizing your assets and planning for their future distribution.

• Exploring estate planning strategies that may address estate tax considerations.

• Including charitable gifts as part of your legacy.

Countybank may also serve as your Personal Representative, helping carry out the instructions in your will after your passing. This role may include managing estate assets, overseeing investments, working with the Probate Court, and coordinating the steps involved in settling your estate.

Having experienced professionals help manage these responsibilities can ease the burden on your loved ones during a difficult time.

Take the Next Step Toward Peace of Mind

Your financial goals, family, and legacy deserve thoughtful attention. Whether you’re considering a living trust, planning for retirement, or preparing for the future of someone you love, Countybank’s trust professionals can help you understand your options.

Let’s talk about what matters to you—and how you can plan for the future with confidence.