Having wealth opens the door to unique opportunities. It also brings unique burdens and demands. First Covenant can help guide individuals and families through the challenges that come with having a high net worth.

Legacy Preservation & Expansion

Your family’s legacy is important. Covenant works with clients to preserve family history, legacy and values. The goal is not merely preservation of the historic value of the family legacy, but to extend that legacy into new opportunities and meaningful endeavors.

Income Tax/Estate & Transfer Tax Minimization

Wealth is earned. High net worth is not achieved without creating great value for clients and customers over a long period of time. First Covenant can work with you to establish plans and structures to minimize and potentially prevent erosion of wealth due to estate and transfer taxes. Engaging in this planning can have a tremendous impact on the growth of family wealth in the long-term. First Covenant can help coordinate estate and transfer tax minimization with the need to minimize income taxes as well, resulting in a strategy that is as tax efficient as possible.

Asset Protection

Having wealth can make one a target for lawsuits and other unknown potential creditors. First Covenant can help you protect your wealth from unknown future creditors through the use of strategic asset placement, titling, trusts, LLCs and other mechanisms. Both South Dakota and Tennessee provide excellent self-settled asset protection trust statutes, which are generally regarded as among the best in the nation.

Privacy

First Covenant Trust is chartered in South Dakota. Among the reasons our founders chose to organize in South Dakota is that South Dakota has arguably the best trust privacy laws in the country and the world. The January 2020 issue of Trust & Estates Magazine noted that “South Dakota has the best trust privacy laws.” South Dakota has specific trust privacy statutes which provide for a complete seal of trust-related information, meaning that trust terms, settlors, beneficiaries and assets are kept out of the public record forever. In addition, South Dakota law provides a settlor flexibility in determining when and under what conditions, to disclose the existence of a trust to beneficiaries. First Covenant’s culture emphasizes privacy and this emphasis dates back to its founding.

Emphasis on Client Service

While assisting with the above, our emphasis is on the highest quality service to our VIP clients. Eagerness to assist, proactive problem-solving, and a sense of urgency are highlights of our service.

Family Office Services

For ultra-high-net-worth families, First Covenant Trust provides Family Office Services. Read more on our Family Office page.