introduction: peter s. ("Pete") williams
Pete has been in the business of wealth management and estate planning for over 40 years. He has acquired a unique set of skills which allows him to work intelligently and diligently to assist clients and their heirs to meet wealth management goals.
As a Professional Fiduciary, Pete utilizes his career skills in a variety of capacities. He may serve as Trustee, Co-Trustee or Special Trustee of a Trust. He may be named an Executor or Personal Representative in probate proceedings including estate settlements and conservatorships. He also may serve in a consulting role providing budgeting, bill paying and business continuation services.
Pete received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Mathematics from the University of California and a Juris Doctorate from Western State University College of Law. He is a member of the California Bar Association.
Read further to understand the important aspects of Fiduciary Services and how Pete's background reflects on his abilities to meet the demands of the various roles.
investment management
Fiduciaries must have knowledge of investments, financial goal setting, portfolio construction and securities regulation. The California Probate Code mandates that fiduciaries manage assets pursuant to the Prudent Investor Rule. This is especially important in the management of estate assets whether held in trust, in a probate estate or other financial arrangement.
- Pete spent over fifteen years in the investment business prior to opening his law practice.
- He held a position as a financial advisor with a national investment firm working directly with clients to construct customized portfolios. Clients included individuals, trusts and qualified plans.
- In the 1980's, he founded a de novo securities firm for which he was President, Registered Principal and part owner. In this role, he not only worked directly with clients managing their portfolios but also was tasked with day-to-day operations, dealing with regulators, conferring with client attorneys and accountants, and supervising the firm's financial advisors.
- He understands the need to establish goals and objectives in an investment policy statement
- He understands the need to diversify among asset classes and within those asset classes to achieve risk-adjusted returns expected to meet goals.
- Further, he understands the need to review a policy statement in light of changes in a client's financial circumstances, the investment environment and economy as a whole.
While fiduciaries may delegate these duties by hiring an investment manager, they nevertheless remain responsible for proper execution of investment plans and supervision of services.
retirement planning
Builders of wealth generally want that wealth preserved - whether it be a modest nest egg or an ultra-high net worth estate. Later in life, it becomes difficult to start over and often financial goals and objectives change accordingly. Some may want their wealth to provide an income during retirement years while others may want to share their wealth with gifts to family and charities. Many will do both.
A variety of personal and charitable trusts can help achieve these goals. Having advisors with knowledge of retirement planning, gift taxes and planned giving is crucial.
- Pete spent his early career in pension planning. He worked for a pension consulting firm performing actuarial duties for qualified plans under ERISA. He used his knowledge of ERISA when, as a financial advisor, his clients included qualified plans and Individual Retirement Accounts.
- During his investment career, he had experience dealing with changes in client investment objectives as they entered their retirement years.
- During his years of law practice, he drafted a variety of retirement-focused trusts such as Irrevocable Trusts, Charitable Trusts and IRA Trusts.
He continues to stay current with retirement plan regulations and tax matters - from ERISA to the present day's SECURE ACT. He has dealt with contribution and distribution rules for Rollover IRAs, SEP IRAs, Roth Conversions and Inherited IRAs. He is knowledgeable about private foundations, public charities and donor advised funds.
estate planning
Needless to say, those who create wealth generally like to have their estates handled in accordance with their desires 1) while they are alive and well, 2) in the event of an unfortunate incapacity and 3) ultimately upon death. A professional fiduciary can play a role in ensuring that a client's estate plan is implemented as desired.
- In the mid-1990's, Pete sold his investment firm and opened his private law practice concentrating on estate and business planning matters. He worked with clients to draft Wills, Trusts, Powers of Attorney, Health Care Directives, Business Buy-Sell Agreements and Contracts. He has represented Executors and Personal Representatives in Probate matters.
- He remains an active member of the California Bar; however, as a professional fiduciary, Pete's role is strictly to provide trust and estate administration. Legal services are provided by the clients' attorneys. At the same time, his knowledge of estate planning helps in his work with attorneys and in his communication with trustors and beneficiaries.
- Pete has knowledge of the "alphabet soup" of trusts including: RLTs, ILITs, GRATs, CRUTs and SLATs, to name a few.
He is able to stay current with the law through his continuing education for the Bar.
trust and estate administration
Critical to trust and estate administration is a fiduciary's ability to perform duties solely in the interest of the underlying client without bias and without conflicting interests. Because of the detail work involved, a fiduciary should have excellent organizational and time-management skills. A fiduciary should have experience with clients of all backgrounds, personalities, wealth categories, asset types and family dynamics. A fiduciary might be tasked with paying tuition from a grandchild's trust one day and preparing a court-mandated accounting for another client the next.
- In 2004, Pete went "in-house" as a trust officer with a Southern California bank trust department. In these past 18 years, he has worked with banking institutions of varying sizes.
- He has worked with a variety of clients, some of modest wealth and some with ultra-high net worth estates. And, he has experienced a great variety of personalities and family dynamics.
- He utilizes his education and career experience to work with estate matters requiring knowledge of estate planning and investment management. He utilizes his abilities to perform detail tasks involving such matters as beneficiary distributions, securities transfers, investment diversification, property appraisals, real estate management and property sales.
- He has worked under a fiduciary standard ("client first") and has been involved in regulatory audits, court orders, trust committee oversight and all of the dynamics that make trust and estate management both challenging and exciting.