How Can Strategic Trust Planning Secure Your Financial Legacy?

True Root Financial is a financial advisor and financial planner based in San Francisco, CA. We serve clients across the globe.

You’ve Built It. Now Protect It.

Imagine spending years climbing the ladder, negotiating offers, juggling stock options and RSUs, budgeting for your family, and investing wisely, only to have it all unravel due to an unexpected event.

If you are a tech professional interested in learning how we can help you claim your financial independence by investing wisely, minimizing taxes, and maximizing your equity compensation, please book a no-obligation call here.

Trust Planning: Do You Really Need It? YES!! and it doesn’t have to be complicated. Watch the video below where we break down the 3 must-have documents that protects your assets and ensure your wishes are honored.

Key Takeaways:

• Everyone needs an estate plan, not just high-net-worth individuals
• Trusts help you avoid probate, protect privacy, and ensure your wishes are honored
• Estate planning is especially important for tech professionals with equity compensation, real estate, or dependents.

Why Trust Planning Matters Now More Than Ever?

Many of the Bay Area tech professionals we work with have grown their wealth through a mix of:

• High salaries
• Stock options and RSUs
• Real estate appreciation
• Smart investing

But here’s the issue: unlike optimizing taxes or diversifying equity comp, estate planning rarely feels urgent, until life forces your hand.

What a Trust Actually Does?

A revocable living trust offers protection and control over how your assets are handled both while you’re alive and after you’re gone. It allows you to:

• Avoid probate (the costly, time-consuming court process)
• Decide how and when your assets are distributed
• Appoint a trusted person to manage things if you’re incapacitated
• Create a structure for minor children or family members with special needs
• Keep your affairs private (unlike a will, which is public record)

Without a trust, even a clear will still sends your estate through California’s probate system, which can take over a year.

Real-Life Example: The Cost of Not Planning

A client of ours working in a tech company lost his father suddenly. His father had a will but no trust. Despite having a relatively modest estate (a home, a brokerage account, and a 401(k)), the family spent nearly two years in probate and paid thousands in legal fees.

Contrast that with another client, also a tech professional, who had created a trust. When he passed, everything transferred seamlessly to his family in just a few weeks, without court involvement or stress.

Same type of assets. Very different outcomes.

Trust vs. Will: What’s the Difference?

Think of a trust as a container. You “fill” it with assets like your home, investments, and even life insurance, so when the time comes, it can be handed off cleanly without legal delays.

Incapacity Planning: Who Makes Decisions If You Can’t?

Trust planning isn’t just about what happens after you pass; it’s also about what happens if you’re alive but unable to act due to illness or accident. You’ll need:

• Durable Financial Power of Attorney – Lets a trusted person manage your finances.
• Advance Healthcare Directive – Outlines your medical preferences and appoints someone to speak for you.
• Medical Power of Attorney – Empowers someone to make healthcare decisions on your behalf.

This is particularly important for tech professionals who travel or work internationally. We’ve seen delays in paying taxes or managing mortgages simply because a Power of Attorney was missing.

Trusts and Equity Compensation

Your RSUs, stock options, ESPPs, and pre-IPO shares are often your largest assets—and some of the easiest to overlook in an estate plan.

• A well-crafted trust can receive:
• Vested but unsold RSUs
• Company stock in brokerage accounts
• Private company shares

By retitling these to your trust or ensuring the right beneficiary designations, you eliminate ambiguity and make life easier for your heirs.

Planning for Children and Legacy

If you have children, whether they’re in grade school or college, your trust allows you to:

• Appoint legal guardians
• Stagger asset distributions (e.g., 30% at 25, 30% at 30, the rest at 35)
• Allocate funds specifically for education, healthcare, or housing
• You can also set up special provisions for stepchildren, dependents with disabilities, or charitable giving goals.

Key Estate Planning Documents to Have

Here’s your estate planning “starter pack”:

• Revocable Living Trust – Avoids probate and maintains privacy
• A Will – Catches assets not yet titled in the trust
• Durable Financial Power of Attorney – Empowers financial decisions
• Healthcare Directive & Medical POA – Ensures your healthcare wishes are honored

Keep them together in a secure but accessible place. Your family needs to find them easily if something happens.

When Should You Create a Trust?

If you have:

• Minor or college-aged children
• A home in California
• $1M+ net worth
• Have significant equity compensation
• A blended family

Now is the right time. Trusts aren’t about how old you are; they’re about how much responsibility and complexity you carry.

Final Thought: You’ve Worked Hard, Don’t Leave It to Chance

By the time you’re in your 40s or 50s, you’ve likely built something worth protecting. A thoughtfully crafted trust plan helps ensure:

• Your assets go where you want, when you want
• Your family avoids legal confusion and probate stress
• Your legacy is honored, and not tied up in court

If you haven’t reviewed your estate plan in the last three years—or ever—now is the time. Peace of mind doesn’t have to wait until retirement.

Next Steps

If you’re a tech professional with assets, equity, or dependents, we can help you:

• Review your accounts and trust alignment
• Coordinate your estate plan with your tax and investment strategies
• Avoid costly gaps by consulting a financial advisor

Protect what you’ve worked so hard to earn. Let’s build a trust plan that reflects your values and secures your legacy. Book a no obligation call below:

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