Wealth preservation, business and estate planning, philanthropy, trust administration, and family dynamics are often interconnected. Ruder Ware’s Family Office & Fiduciary Services Focus Team helps bring these considerations together through coordinated planning, trusted guidance, and long-term stewardship.

Drawing on the resources of our diverse team, we help individuals and families navigate important decisions with confidence and continuity. Whether serving as trustee, coordinating with trusted advisors, guiding a business succession plan, or helping preserve a family’s legacy across generations, we provide thoughtful counsel designed to support both present needs and future goals.

Why Families Turn to a Family Office

As families grow and circumstances change, planning often becomes increasingly complex. A Family Office provides a centralized approach to coordinating legal, financial, fiduciary, and personal matters. We commonly assist families with:

• Wealth preservation and legacy planning
• Business succession and liquidity events
• Trust administration
• Family governance and communication
• Philanthropic planning
• Significant life and business transitions
• Asset and property management oversight

Our Approach

We are committed to supporting you and your family through thoughtful planning and trusted collaboration. With the depth of a full-service law firm, we are able to address complex legal, fiduciary, tax, business, and planning needs in an integrated way rather than through isolated recommendations. Our guidance reflects independent judgment shaped by long-term stewardship and professional ethical standards.

Effective planning often requires coordination among multiple advisors. We work alongside accountants, financial planners, investment advisors, insurance professionals, and other trusted advisors to help ensure strategies remain aligned as opportunities arise and circumstances change.

Fiduciary & Trustee Services

Serving as Trustee

Building wealth is not an easy task. Keeping wealth, enhancing it, and ensuring that it is transferred in a sensible and tax-advantaged manner requires thoughtful planning and stewardship. Continuing a long tradition at Ruder Ware, our attorneys help families accomplish these objectives by serving as trustees and fiduciaries.

As trustees, we carefully manage and protect trust assets, distribute income and principal according to trust provisions, and provide accurate, timely reporting regarding trust activities. Our attorneys are honored by client requests to serve in these roles and consider this work among their most significant professional responsibilities.

Unlike many institutional providers, qualified attorneys, rather than the firm itself, serve as trustees. This personal responsibility results in a high level of personal service and accountability.

Why Lawyers Make Effective Trustees

Our attorneys bring experience in:

• Trust law
• Estate planning
• Estate settlement
• Charitable planning
• Taxation
• Business succession planning
• Real estate matters
• Probate administration

Combined with sound judgment, disciplined decision-making, and access to trusted investment resources, these skills provide a strong foundation for effective fiduciary service.

Investment Oversight & Stewardship

As trustees, we strive to enhance and preserve the value of our clients’ assets, both in absolute dollars and purchasing power. Achieving these objectives requires a long-term perspective and disciplined investment management focused on preserving and growing family wealth over time.

Because we are often involved in developing a client’s broader estate and financial plan, we can consider all aspects of a family’s balance sheet, including:

• Business interests
• Real estate holdings
• Retirement assets
• Life insurance
• Personal property
• Trust assets
• Charitable objectives

 Services That Support Life, Legacy & Transition

		Business Succession planning Mergers & Acquisitions Review of investment options for liquidity events Full suite of legal services				Estate Planning Estate administration Estate planning flowchart Full suite of legal services
		Trust Trustee services Administrative support for all types of trusts Diversified portfolio management Alternative investments and other unique assets Legal services				Individual Retirement Accounts Facilitate rollovers from employer retirement plans and trustee-to-trustee transfers Diversified portfolio management Qualified Charitable Distributions Required Minimum Distributions
		Family Facilitation of family meetings and governance Family culture and legacy planning Family dynamics – conflict resolution and communication				Philanthropy Foundation creation, support and administration Charitable Trust creation and administration IRA Qualified Charitable Distributions Asset transfers to charitable organizations
		Wealth Financial planning Wealth preservation Tax strategies Annual exclusion gifting Budgeting/spending goals and liquidity needs Financial data aggregation and consolidated reporting Cash management and bill payments including tax payments				Investments Advisory services and portfolio management Alternative investment strategies Risk management Socially responsible investment strategies
		Insurance Solutions Property & Casualty Life Natural Disaster Disability Long-term care				Asset & Property Management Oversight Coordinate with property managers and leasing professionals Oversee budgets, operating expenses, and capital improvements Manage vendor relationships and maintenance activities Administer leases and monitor rent rolls Process receipts and expenses Coordinate with insurance professionals to ensure appropriate coverage

Founded in 1920, Ruder Ware provides business, employment, estate planning, and litigation services. A full-service law firm, over 45 attorneys provide clients with a one-stop approach to their legal needs. Ruder Ware, Business Attorneys for Business Success.