Estate planning is a process of planning for the disbursement of an estate according to the goals of the estate owner. Germantown Trust & Savings Bank can help you implement your estate plan as well as serving as your Executor or Personal Representative in order to ensure that your wishes are carried out under the provisions of your will. An effective estate plan will meet your personal objectives of transferring your estate while minimizing the impact of taxes and other expenses.

An Escrow Agent acts on behalf of the customer. As Escrow Agent, it is Germantown Trust & Savings Bank’s responsibility to collect all assets and revenues, pay all invoices, do all accounting, furnish full information to file tax returns, and to safekeep all pertinent documentation. This is done only as directed by the customer.

When a client establishes a self-directed Traditional, Roth, or Educational IRA with Germantown Trust & Savings Bank, the client directs the Investments and Germantown Trust & Savings Bank holds the assets, performs all transactions, records all income, makes distributions, keeps the plan in compliance, and completes the required IRS reporting.

A Guardianship refers to the condition in which one person has legal authority over another. It is most commonly thought of in terms of children, but anyone who is less than full capacity or otherwise unable to act on his own behalf can have a guardian. There are several types of guardianship in existence. Most parents have general guardianship rights over their children. It is more common for a bank, such as Germantown Trust & Savings Bank, to have financial guardianship over an individual. A financial conservatorship is a legal relationship in which Germantown Trust & Savings Bank, the guardian, handles the finances of the incapacitated or minor person, the conservatee.

As custodian, Germantown Trust & Savings Bank holds customers’ securities for safekeeping to minimize the risk of theft or loss. We can hold securities and other assets in electronic or physical form. In addition to holding securities for safekeeping, we also offer a variety of other services including account administration, transaction settlements, collection of dividends and interest payments, and tax support. The fees charged vary depending on the services desired; however, they are very competitive.

In the case of bonds, while the Bank can perform any of these functions individually, the Bank usually performs the duties of Paying Agent, Escrow Agent, and Registrar in conjunction with each other as they are closely related. As Bond Registrar, it is Germantown Trust & Savings Bank’s responsibility to maintain all records of bonds issued by an entity. A paying agent is, therefore, needed to maintain records of ownership. As Paying Agent, Germantown Trust & Savings Bank’s responsibilities include collecting funds from issuers to make interest payments to bondholders, as well as facilitating payment of coupons and matured bonds. The Bank sometimes has to act as an Escrow Agent for those bonds that get refunded to assure payments are received from a combination of issuer and government payments.

Germantown Trust & Savings Bank offers professional farm management in all areas of farming, including crop and livestock marketing, lease negotiations, managing of funds, and all record keeping for tax purposes. Because of the great variety of farm operations in this area, fees for farm management will be negotiated. Fees will be based upon the responsibility assumed, considering total acreage, tillable acreage, location of farm, applicable conservation practices, building maintenance, tenant supervision and estimated landlord income.

An agency agreement is a legal contract where one person, the agent, is legally authorized to act on behalf of another person, the principal. They are important to understand because if you authorize an agent to act on your behalf, then you become the principal, and a principal can be legally liable for the acts of the agent. An Agency Agreement will typically contain specific guidelines that govern when and how the agent may act on behalf of the principal. It is very important to only enter into an Agency Agreement with a trusted party.