For many families, estate planning doesn’t end when the documents are signed. In many ways, that’s when the real work begins. As wealth becomes more complex and families look to preserve assets across generations, trusts have evolved from simple estate planning tools into long-term strategies for managing wealth, carrying out family wishes, and creating lasting legacies.
That evolution has also transformed the role of the trustee, making thoughtful trust administration just as important as the trust itself. Recognizing that need, Connecticut Wealth Management (CTWM) has formalized its trust services offering, led by Heather J. Rhoades, who joined the firm after a 27-year career as a trust and estate attorney with Cummings & Lockwood LLC.
“Creating the trust document is only the beginning,” Rhoades says. “The real responsibility is carrying outsomeone’s wishes over time. That’s where thoughtful trust administration becomes so important.”
The Growing Role of a Professional Trustee
Throughout her legal career, Rhoades saw trust planning become increasingly sophisticated. Families are thinking beyond simply transferring wealth to the next generation. They’re looking to protect assets, prepare for life’s uncertainties, and create structures that can support children, grandchildren, and future generations while remaining aligned with their values.
Those goals require more than carefully drafted legal documents.
A trustee has a fiduciary responsibility to administer a trust according to the grantor’s wishes while acting in the best interests of beneficiaries. Depending on the trust, responsibilities may include overseeing investments, coordinating with advisors, and making distribution decisions that balance current needs with long-term objectives.
Historically, trustees were often family members or close friends. While that arrangement can still make sense in certain situations, today’s trusts are often more complex and designed to last much longer. As a result, many families are seeking professional trustees who can provide continuity, experience, and objective decision-making over time.
Connecting Trust Services with Comprehensive Planning
For CTWM, expanding into trust services was a natural extension of the firm’s planning-first philosophy.
“A trust should never exist in isolation,” Rhoades says. “It should reflect the client’s goals, family circumstances, and the purpose behind why the trust was created.”
That integrated perspective connects trust administration with a client’s broader financial plan. An advisor’s understanding of their client’s financial life, family relationships, and long-term goals helps decisions remain connected to the intent behind the plan.
The approach is also intentionally collaborative. Estate planning attorneys remain the architects of the legal documents, while CTWM works alongside these professionals and others to help implement and administer the plan over time.
Building a Service Around Client Needs
As families seek greater continuity in managing complex wealth, many already have longstanding relationships with financial advisors who understand their goals, family dynamics, and broader financial picture. Formalizing CTWM’s trust services builds on those relationships by providing a dedicated framework for administering trusts as client needs evolve over time.
For Rhoades, joining CTWM represented an opportunity to shape that capability from the ground up.
“After spending nearly three decades helping clients create estate plans and serving as trustee to carry those plans forward, I was excited by the opportunity to join CTWM and help build a trust services platform that will provide clients with continuity, guidance and long-term support,” she says. “What stood out about CTWM was the firm’s commitment to understanding clients beyond their investments and helping families make thoughtful decisions over time.”
Helping Families Carry Their Legacy Forward
As clients increasingly seek coordinated advice across every aspect of their financial lives, CTWM views trust services as an extension of its holistic planning approach.
The goal isn’t simply to administer a trust. It’s to give families confidence that the professionals who understand their financial lives today can help carry out their wishes for generations to come.
