Estate planning at EP Wealth

EP Wealth Private Trust is a doing-business-as name of National Advisors Trust Company, FSB ("NATC"), a federally chartered trust company regulated by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and a member of the FDIC. EP Wealth's Form ADV Part 2A is explicit that NATC "is an independent entity and in no way under common ownership, control or otherwise affiliated with EPWA," and that "EPWA is not a Trust Company and is not in the business of delivering Trustee Services to any of its clients." EP Wealth refers clients to NATC when a corporate trustee would help; the client reviews and signs NATC's own service agreement and fee schedule. EP Wealth states it receives no compensation, direct or indirect, for trust-company referrals.

The legally operative designation is the one the custodian holds. Your advisor can prepare and submit the custodian's form and will review the designation against your trust and pour-over will, but the change is not effective until Schwab or Fidelity processes it — so always keep the custodian's confirmation. You can also make the change yourself by logging in to the custodian (Schwab 1-800-435-4000; Fidelity 1-800-343-3548). EP Wealth's own client login is a planning and statement portal, not the beneficiary system of record. Remember that a beneficiary or TOD designation on file with the custodian overrides your will and trust for that account, and that an ERISA employer plan requires written spousal consent before a non-spouse beneficiary can be named.

EP Wealth is not a law firm and does not draft legal documents. Its estate-planning service is coordination: reviewing the revocable living trust, pour-over will, powers of attorney, advance directives and beneficiary designations already in place, flagging assets that were never retitled into the trust, and working with your estate attorney on drafting and with your CPA on tax filings. EP Wealth publishes explainers on the pieces it coordinates — revocable living trusts, certificates of trust, pour-over wills, real estate transfers and charitable giving — at epwealth.com/services/estate-planning/. Where a client has no attorney, CPA or corporate trustee, EP Wealth makes referrals, including to National Advisors Trust Company, FSB (DBA EP Wealth Private Trust); each of those firms contracts with the client separately.