Is The TrustPeople™ a retail commercial bank?
The TrustPeople™ is not a retail bank and does not advertise or offer commercial banking services to the general public. We are an independent Montana Banking Corporation specializing exclusively in Trusts, Conservatorships and Estate Administration. back to top

How is The TrustPeople™ regulated?
The TrustPeople™ is a Montana chartered trust company which means that it is approved as a banking corporation, is audited by bank examiners, and is staffed by bonded, professional, informative, trust officers who are impartial and confidential. TheTrustPeople™ has been a regulated financial institution since 2001. Regulators act on behalf of clients to ensure our financial safety and soundness. As a trust company, which does not engage in commercial banking activity (i.e., accept checking accounts, make loans), we can focus on our specialty. back to top

How are my funds protected?
As a state chartered trust company, The TrustPeople™ offers protection to its clients in a number of ways including:
• government regulation-stringent examinations are conducted to ensure our safety and soundness by state bank examiners
• audits by technology security experts
• bonding of trust officers
• internal information security policies
back to top

How do you handle Internal Investments?
The TrustPeople™, Inc. does not invest client money in its own mutual funds, CDs, or other products. Further, it generally avoids accepting commissions or payments other than its trustee fees. Certain exceptions may arise, such as the purchase or acceptance of existing shares of particularly good commission based mutual funds. In such cases, trustee fees will be reduced by the amount of commission received (via Steve Hample’s securities licenses described elsewhere). Thus, The TrustPeople™, Inc. does not financially benefit from such actions, yet investment choices may be increased.
back to top

How do you handle Disclosure / Conflicts of Interest?
CEO, Dr. Stephen R. Hample continues to maintain various insurance and securities licenses obtained before forming this trust company. In particular, he continues as a registered representative of KMS Financial Services, Inc. which supervises securities transactions, maintains backup copies of many records and performs duties of a broker-dealer. Because of overlapping securities and banking regulations, auditors from both KMS Financial Services, Inc. and the Montana Commissioner of Banking may confidentially audit financial records of trusts we administer. To facilitate supervision and auditing, securities transactions will usually be placed through KMS.          http://www.financial-planning-mt.com  back to top

What is the minimum amount of the estate to become a trust client?
We have no rigid minimum account requirement. However, each account is charged a minimum $1,200 annual fee to cover audit, accounting and other basic costs. Therefore we suggest that a minimum practical size is $100,000 or more. In cases where annual gifts are likely to soon build the trust above that amount, we may temporarily lower the minimum fee on a case by case basis. back to top

Does The TrustPeople™ have accountants or CPA’s on staff?
We hire outside Certified Public Accountants to prepare tax returns for each trust because CPAs are tax specialists and often provide an extra source of review and ideas. Each trust’s tax return preparation fee is billed to the particular trust in the same amount as charged by the accountant. back to top

If my own attorney or CPA is involved, do they work for me or for The TrustPeople™?
These professionals actually work for the trust and are ethically bound to adhere to the intent of the trust and protect the assets for the beneficiary . They are there to act as trusted advisors who can consider key legal, tax or accounting issues that may impact the trust beneficiary. back to top

What if I don’t have my own legal or accounting advisor?
We can work with you to assess what type of external advice is best for you and then refer you to a list of professionals in our area who specialize in trusts and estates. back to top