Idaho



Expert No. 3663

Summary

Over 27 years experience managing a wide variety of trust and estate assets, designing estate plans for high net worth clients, and creating custom financial solutions for unique family circumstances.  This experience includes, but is not limited to, the following:

• Trust and estate administration
• Fiduciary taxation, both fiduciary income tax and federal estate tax
• Application of the provisions of the Uniform Principal and Income Act
• Application of the provisions of the Uniform Prudent Investor Act
• Fiduciary asset management and disposal

Present Activities

•    Private Trustee and Personal Representative, August 2008 to Present
•    Self-employed as a professional fiduciary to manage trusts and settle estates, 2008 to Present

Past Experience

The Grupp Law Firm, PLLC, Coeur d’Alene, ID, August 2009 to July 2010
Consulting work assisting in the design and implementation of estate plans and exit plans for closely-held business owners and families, including addressing tax, risk management, and operations concerns

Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., Coeur d’Alene, ID, April 2001 to August 2008
VP, Senior Trust & Financial Advisor. Managed Trust Department as part of the Wealth Management Group for the bank covering north Idaho, eastern Washington, and western Montana.

• Developed new trust and investment management business in the Inland Northwest region. 
• Focused specifically on applying asset allocation principles to large and multiple managed investment portfolios. 
• Supervised the preparation of responses to investment management Requests-for-Proposal from corporate and non-profit treasury offices.
• Designed estate plans for wealth management clients, particularly for closely-held business owners, partnering with private bankers and financial consultants. 
• Administered largest book of trust and estate business for Wells Fargo Bank in Idaho.

Bradford Trust Co., Nashville, TN, June 2000 to February 2001
AVP, Team Leader.

• Consolidated trust accounts resulting from PaineWebber acquisition of JC Bradford Co, serving as one of three Team Leaders.
• Supervised Team A, which administered -300 accounts exceeding $300 million in assets.
• Taught internal classes on trust principal/income accounting and fiduciary income tax.

Independence Trust Co., Franklin, TN, January 1998 to February 2000
VP, Operations and Administration.

• Supervised operations during period when company grew from $30 million to $230 million in assets, including the development of process controls for funds management, securities transaction settlement, and client account reconciliation.
• Lowered firm’s cost of managing select accounts by creating and administering 2 pooled investment funds with $36 million invested, resulting in increased capacity for $25 million in additional new client assets.  This also lowered annual investment management costs to clients by over $200,000.
• Rebalanced equity and fixed income investment portfolios totaling $95 million monthly, resulting in lowered annual deviation from allocation targets
• Administered trust accounts over a 7 state region.
• Served as acting Chair of Trust Administrative Committee.
• Maintained trust relationship with international holding company.
• Grew account portfolio > 7 times to 57% of total firm assets, contributing more than 76% of firm gross revenue.
• Supervised the acquisition of trust assets from two financial institutions.

American Factors of Nashville, LLC, Brentwood, TN, May 1995 to October 1997
President.  Started commercial finance firm, placing > $2 million in private debt capital in accounts receivable financing.   

Gardere & Wynne, LLC, Dallas, TX, November 1983 to May 1995
Trust Administrator. 

• Started trust administration service for the firm and built it to >$100 million in assets under administration, including securities, commercial real estate, agricultural properties, tangible personal assets, and limited partnership interests.
• Designed complex estate plans for high net worth individuals, including charitable trusts, family limited partnerships, split-dollar insurance plans, and plans involving closely held operating businesses.
• Settled a $100+ million estate of a CEO who died during the midst of his company’s initial public offering.
• Developed estate tax and fiduciary income tax return preparation capabilities as a new revenue source for the firm.
• Principal in design of proprietary trust accounting software unique to Texas community property law.

Education

Texas School of Trust Banking, Dallas, Texas
Certificate of Completion, 1988

Dallas Baptist University, Dallas, Texas
B.A., Political Science and History, 1987

Dallas Baptist University, Dallas, Texas
33 credits toward MBA Finance, expected completion Spring 2012

Various professional programs dealing with fiduciary taxation, estate and gift taxation, trust administration and operations

Affiliations

Coeur d’Alene Estate Planning Council, past President

Certifications

Certified Trust & Financial Advisor, currently inactive
Securities Series 7 and 66, lapsed due to Wells Fargo Bank policy for trust officers

Estate and Trust Litigation Experience

Available Upon Request

Issues that can be addressed

• Standards of care for the administration of estates and trusts by individual and corporate fiduciaries
• Standards of care for the management of specific types of assets owned by estates and trusts
• Standard for fiduciary duty by individual and corporate fiduciaries to beneficiary(ies)
• Standards for care under the Uniform Prudent Investor Act
• Investment portfolio modeling
• Standards of trust and estate accounting under the Uniform Principal and Income Act
• Policy standards for discretionary distributions of income or principal to beneficiaries
• Federal estate tax elections and return preparation
• Federal fiduciary income tax return preparation
• Accounting and taxation of conduit entities (partnerships, LLCs, and sub-S corporations) by irrevocable trusts
• Compensatory and opportunity lost determinations
• Fiduciary conflicts of interest (duty of loyalty)
• Bank trust department trust and estate administrative policies
• Suitability of estate and/or trust plan design and implementation

Services Available

• Pre-litigation case evaluation
• Litigation consulting support after petition has been filed (discovery, pre-trial preparation, depositions, interrogatories, advice during trial)
• Expert witness at trial

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