Funeral trusts and death care trusts can be complex, whether you own a cemetery or funeral home, or are a municipality that manages memorial parks or cemeteries. A trust program can be beneficial to both your organization and your clients—potentially generating trust income to help maintain your business while offering your clients a way to prepare for their funeral and cemetery care expenses.

If you plan to establish a funeral trust for your organization or are seeking a new trustee for your existing trust, you’ll want to find the right trustee to manage, maintain and administer your trust needs over time.

Below are five essential criteria to consider when selecting your preneed trust administrator.

A fiduciary relationship

When looking for the right funeral trust administrator for you, one of the most important elements to consider is the quality of the partnership and the value it can bring. For instance, check to make sure your trustee is a fiduciary—which means they operate with your best interests above all else. Using a fiduciary helps ensure you and your organization are listened to and your goals come first.

Responsive and consistent communication

Part of the right trustee partnership also means finding someone who you can connect with on a regular basis to review your trust and make necessary changes. You deserve service that’s responsive, so finding a partner who will give you a direct number can really help when you have questions or need to make changes.

Valuable reporting and recordkeeping

Managing a trust should not be a passive exercise and requires meticulous recordkeeping and reporting to ensure you stay on track with your goals. Your trustee should help you manage your documentation needs for everything from state reporting and tax paperwork, to contract records and trust distributions.

Knowledgeable team

Preneed and endowed care trust services can be a niche specialty, which can make it more difficult to find a trust administer who understands what you do and the intricacies of state and federal regulations. Find a trust partner that is well-informed on the current regulations and is committed to maintaining standards and compliance. And keep in mind that a non-specialized trust administrator may not be aware of some of the investment options designed specifically for funeral trusts.

Investment options

Investment strategies are not one-size-fits-all, which is why it is important to select trust partners who can bring appropriate investment options to your trust and leverage their knowledge of the funeral industry and risk management. From pooled investments to individually managed accounts, your trust team should provide diversified investment options that are appropriate for your investment strategy.

Solutions and service that work for you

Service is important, but isn’t everything, so find a trustee with convenient account management options and features to simplify your trust experience. Timely claims processing, sameday deposits, deposit variety (checks, ACH, wires), and online account access are just some of the tools that should be a critical part of your search.

A funeral trust is a unique opportunity to deliver value to both your business and your clients—but they are also intricate and nuanced with regulations, reporting requirements, taxes and active management. If you’ve decided to establish a funeral trust or are seeking to find a new trustee for your existing trust, take the time to research the right funeral trust administrator for your long-term vision.

UMB is a nationally recognized and ranked provider of bond trustee and agency services to the corporate and municipal marketplaces. UMB is a leading provider of funeral trust services to funeral homes, cemeteries and related associations throughout the country, having provided such services for more than 75 years. To learn more about our offerings, visit our website to learn more about UMB and whether we are the right funeral trustee for your organization.