How can a multifamily office help ensure an estate plan is implemented consistently?
A multifamily office can help keep the estate plan current, organized, and coordinated across the family’s attorneys, tax advisers, trustees, and financial professionals. It can maintain an asset and beneficiary inventory, track required actions, document decisions, schedule reviews, and help the executor or trustee follow the governing documents when circumstances change.
Create one implementation record
The office can maintain a central record of wills, trusts, powers of attorney, beneficiary designations, ownership documents, and adviser contact details. It can also keep an asset register showing how each account, business interest, property, and policy is titled. This gives the family and its advisers one current reference point. Beneficiary designations should be reviewed with the estate plan because uncoordinated designations can affect how assets are distributed and how related provisions operate. The American Bar Association describes this coordination as an important estate planning task. American Bar Association
Assign owners and track deadlines
A multifamily office can turn the plan into a task list. Each action should have a named owner, a due date, and supporting documents. Examples include retitling assets, funding trusts, updating beneficiary forms, obtaining appraisals, and preparing tax filings. The office can coordinate with the estate lawyer and tax professional, while leaving legal and tax decisions to those licensed advisers. The IRS states that an executor or administrator is responsible for duties such as filing returns and handling estate administration. Internal Revenue Service, Publication 559
Surprisingly a lot of families that come to us haven't updated their trust in estate plans for five or ten years or never sign the document. Someone else prepared it sounds crazy for someone that's worth 50 or 100 million to be in that situation, but we've found it's very common.
Coordinate people and decisions
Implementation often involves several professionals. The office can arrange shared meetings, circulate an agreed action list, record decisions, and confirm that each adviser received the same information. It can also help successor trustees and executors understand their roles before they are needed. The American Bar Association notes that an executor or trustee is responsible for understanding and implementing the terms of the will or trust, and that proper funding of ongoing trusts should be confirmed with counsel. American Bar Association
Review after family or asset changes
The office can schedule periodic reviews and trigger reviews after events such as a marriage, divorce, death, birth, business sale, relocation, or major change in assets. It can prepare a concise change summary for the family’s attorney and tax adviser, then track approved updates through completion. Family office research reports that estate planning commonly requires close coordination among in-house staff, outside attorneys, and accountants. Campden Wealth, Family Office Operational Excellence Report 2025
Related guides
- Trust and Estate Coordination for Multifamily Offices
- Family Governance With a Multifamily Office
- Tax Coordination With a Multifamily Office: A Practical Guide for Real Estate Families