Join us for a CE course for estate planning attorneys and CPAs. The federal government has overarching powers to collect tax debts that far surpass the collection mechanisms available to ordinary creditors. Knowing what these powers are and how they may be deployed is important not only when embroiled in an audit or collection proceeding but also ... Read More›

“We had an incredible 2021 when we look at U.S. domestic equity market returns, and as we head into the first part of the year it has not been as fun or exciting,” stated Jerry Braakman. “We'll talk through that and explain what is going on, why the market is reacting and how to prepare for that as well.” Jerry Braakman, President and Chief ... Read More›

Experienced trust and estate practitioners have all faced situations involving an aging settlor with diminished capacity. Many of us have also experienced the scenario where a settlor's capacity is so diminished that they can no longer effectively manage their own trust, and a family member steps in to manage the trust. Maybe the trust gets ... Read More›

Many individuals hold concentrated positions in volatile assets, such as closely held businesses, some publicly traded securities, precious metals, commodities, cryptocurrencies, etc. These individuals frequently ask, “What -- if any – estate planning should I do with these assets?” Often the concern is more precisely stated as, “What if the value ... Read More›

Equity markets rounded out a strong 2021 with an impressive fourth-quarter move. All three major market indices had gains of at least 8%, led by the S&P 500. The market move was even more impressive considering the environment. The fourth quarter started and ended with COVID Delta and Omicron variant infections, respectively. The market took ... Read More›

Join us for a CE course for estate planning attorneys and CPAs. The heart of trust administration is the Trustee’s thoughtful exercise of discretion. Clients and their estate planners rely heavily on the core concept that Trustees will follow carefully applicable trust law and parameters established in the governing instrument in making subjective ... Read More›

The Federal Reserve is expected to raise interest rates even more throughout 2022 and consumer stocks are showing disappointing results. As the stock market declined Friday afternoon, “all risk premium assets—crypto, high leverage, growth names—are being impacted, and what’s working right now is the opposite of that, quality stocks,” stated Jerry ... Read More›

Jerry Braakman, Chief Investment Officer and President, stated “what we’ve seen in the past when rates move up either through Fed rate-hike expectations being pulled forward or the 10-year moving up, it seems that tech and some of the growth models get hit more on the valuation side.” In 2022, as the U.S. Federal Reserve is preparing to adjust ... Read More›

Join us for a CE course for estate planning attorneys and CPAs. Life insurance is an enigma, and much misunderstood, in the estate planning world. Some clients (and their advisors) love it; others hate it. In any event, the thoughtful approach to life insurance is that it is neither the solution to be uncritically accepted for all estate planning ... Read More›

Jerry Braakman, Chief Investment Officer, stated “AT&T looked like their strategy was struggling, so we decided not to continue to ride something down.” First American Trust held AT&T shares for many years but sold them over a year ago in December 2020. Currently, there is a lot of uncertainty about AT&T, especially with their May 2020 ... Read More›

We are pleased to announce our new executive leadership team for First American Trust. Matt McCreadie has been appointed as the new CEO and Jerry Braakman has been named President. Matt brings over 20 years of experience in various managerial roles. As chief executive officer, he will oversee the strategic direction and corporate operations of our ... Read More›

We are proud to share that Moody's Investors Service ("Moody's") has assigned first-time A1/Prime-1 deposit ratings to First American Trust, FSB, along with a few other notable ratings. Read More›